500 games in, Jenner has done it all for the Blue Jackets

Boone Jenner is as low maintenance as they come.
Like the ever-dependable vehicle that rarely needs to go into the shop, he just goes out there every night and gets the job done, rarely questioning what it is that he's asked to do, just doing it.
For example, does he have a preference between playing the wing, where he has started this season, or center, where he was the past two years for the Blue Jackets?

"Nope, doesn't matter," he said.
OK, any excitement about moving into sixth place in the team's all-time point-scoring annals, something he did earlier this year when he passed former teammate Brandon Dubinsky?
"It is what it is," he said.
We didn't ask him about the fact he's became just the ninth CBJ player in franchise history to play in his 500th game last night against Dallas, but you can rest assured the reaction would have been similar.

Perhaps that's why sometimes Jenner is the player who is part of the Columbus culture who often gets forgotten about by fans and media alike. Both Cam Atkinson and David Savard are in year No. 10 with Columbus, joining Rostislav Klesla as the only players to reach double digits in seasons. Nick Foligno is in year nine, and the CBJ captain has become the face of the team in the community.
Then there's Jenner, who has solidly moved up the franchise ranks in his eight seasons in Columbus. With three goals and three assists for six points in 11 games in this young season, the 2011 second-round pick is now fifth in franchise history in goals, 14th in assists and sixth in points with a 116-113-229 line.

In some ways it's hard to believe Jenner has been around that long, but then again …
"I can (believe it) because I've been here 10," Atkinson joked. "Time flies, I guess. It's crazy. He's been a core guy for a long time, and we're definitely happy to have him on our side."
That's in part because you know what you're going to get out of Jenner on a nightly basis, something that means a lot to Tortorella, who like most coaches in the league crave consistency. And for Tortorella, the biggest draw in a season being played amid a pandemic and in largely empty buildings across the league is that -- like youngster Alexandre Texier -- Jenner brings obvious effort on a nightly basis.
"It's not so much the points, but I think it's going to be a year of, 'How do you find energy when you play these games?'" Tortorella said. "Those are two energy guys for us."
It has helped Jenner that he's been freed up to play the wing this year after two seasons he largely skated as a center. The Ontario native's move was brought on by necessity over the past two years as the Blue Jackets searched for consistency in the middle of the ice; the benefit was it kept Jenner in the game as a defensive presence but the tradeoff was taking away some of the one-time 30-goal-scorer's abilities to create offense.
But with the offseason acquisitions of Mikko Koivu and Max Domi to bolster the team's depth down the middle, not to mention the preseason move of Texier to the pivot, Jenner has been freed up to play the wing this year, and the puck has followed at times. One of the team's most consistent physical presences -- he topped 200 hits each year from 2016-18 -- is now able to get in hard on the forecheck and try to create some havoc.
"It definitely crossed my mind in the offseason," Jenner said of the move that became obvious from the time the Jackets acquired Domi and Koivu in October. "Trying to prepare and focus for that role, being back on the wing, I had some time to work on stuff that I wanted to do to be effective on the wing again, and I think with having a couple of months to prepare yourself for it, it helped.
"It's a little bit different game, especially in the defensive zone. You're not the low guy as much, things like that where you are getting pucks on the wall with a D coming down on you a little more as a centerman. Little things like that in a game that you want to get ready for, I guess, and be prepared that way."
At the end of the day, no matter where he's playing, Jenner will bring the fight and bring the energy. It's what has made him a building block for the team and a teammate to depend on.
"You know what to expect out of him every single night, every single day, in practice and in games," Atkinson said. "He literally drags guys into the fight and is always the hardest working guy -- always hard on the forecheck, he's always in front of the net making it hard.
"He deserves all the credibility even though (some say) he doesn't get it. I'm sure every single team out there wants a Boone Jenner on their team."
500 games into his career, only one does.