ONE DOWN, ONE UP: Werenski set to return as Jones leaves lineup

As the Blue Jackets deal with bad news about one All-Star defenseman, Seth Jones, they're getting good news about another, Zach Werenski.
Jones is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks with an MCL sprain in his right knee, but Werenski is expected to return from offseason shoulder surgery Friday at Nationwide Arena against the Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m., Fox Sports Go, 1460 ESPN Radio) - the first of the Jackets' final two preseason games this weekend.
Werenski underwent surgery May 3 to repair a torn labrum and "clean up" the rotator cuff in his left shoulder, after playing all but the first 12 games last season with pain and a shoulder harness.
"I'm coming off shoulder surgery, so I don't want to do too much," said Werenski, who scored 16 goals despite the injury, tying Jones for the single-season franchise record by a defenseman. "I worked hard this summer, I've rehabbed it a long time and it's finally coming together. If anything is still bothering me [Friday] and I need some more time I'll take it, but I'm feeling really good right now."

The Blue Jackets are too, knowing Werenski will be back in action and healthy. In fact, coach John Tortorella said he wouldn't even mind if Werenski did try to do too much.
"I'd rather have an athlete think that way anyway," Tortorella said. "Try to do too much, especially this time of year during camp, and then we can tone it down. I think [Werenski's] pretty cerebral, as far as what he is as a player, how he's going to try and get back into game action, so we'll monitor [him]. He's going to play a lot and we'll see what happens as we go through."
The question, thanks to Jones' knee sprain, is which Jackets defenseman will join Werenski on the top defense pairing?
Tortorella isn't locked into anything yet, but Markus Nutivaara skated with Werenski for much of the hour-long practice Thursday at the OhioHealth Ice Haus. That makes sense, since Nutivaara played well next to Jones on the top pairing last December, when Werenski missed four games because of the shoulder injury.
Nutivaara, who earned a contract extension last season, is eager to get another chance in that capacity.
"I mean, nobody can replace 'Jonesy' from our lineup, so that's the main thing," Nutivaara said. "Every [defenseman] has to go to another level, another gear from the start. We've got to be ready. I think it means more ice time for me and I just want to show I can play those minutes and I can make plays too."
NEWS AND NOTES
Tortorella said earlier in camp he might consider splitting the tandem of Werenski and Jones as his top defensive pairing, putting one on each of the top two pairs. The idea would be to create more scoring balance from the back end of the attack.
Thursday, he said Werenski and Jones would've started the season as the top pairing had Jones not gotten injured.
"I didn't get that far," Tortorella said. "Yeah, I was going to start 'em together. That's a hard one for me to get rid of, where I just think they play so well [with] one another. They kind of dictate the pace of our game. I need to keep an open mind, to see what our pairs look like when they're split, but I'm not willing to do that now. Obviously, I have to with this injury, but if [Jones] was healthy, I wasn't willing to do it to start the season."
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Jones' injury isn't the only one of significance on the blue line, as Ryan Murray remains out with a soft-tissue groin injury. Murray is expected to be out at least a couple of weeks.
"It's still not day-to-day," Tortorella said. "That's how I'm going to do it this year. I'm going to say, 'It's not day-to-day.' If it is day-to-day, I'll tell you: 'Day-to-day.' It's not day-to-day [for Murray]."
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The Blue Jackets signed defenseman Michael Prapavessis to a two-year entry-level contract Thursday, after the rookie free-agent invitee impressed in both the prospects tournament and training camp.
Prapavessis, a fourth-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2014, became a free agent after playing four years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The Stars didn't sign him and he accepted an invitation from Columbus to attend the 2018 NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Mich., as a free-agent.
He helped the Blue Jackets win the tournament, earned an invite to NHL camp and then earned a contract during camp with the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. After impressing alongside Jones on the top defense pairing for preseason games, he now has an NHL contract.
That's quite a month.
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Alex Broadhurst hasn't been assigned to Cleveland yet because he's dealing with an undisclosed injury. Once he's healthy, the 25-year old forward will be placed on waivers with the intent to assign him to the Monsters.
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Tortorella indicated that another roster cutdown is likely to happen Sunday, a day after the Blue Jackets conclude their preseason slate with a game against the Chicago Blackhawk at United Center.
Columbus is expected to have most, if not all, of its NHL regulars in the playing group Friday against the Penguins - meaning there could be some players recalled from the Monsters to play Saturday in Chicago.
"We still have to make some decisions as far as the forwards are concerned, as far as how many we're going to keep here," Tortorella said. "I think that decision will probably happen over the weekend here, where Monday we can get down to even lesser numbers, so we're not at five lines plus an extra [forward in practice]."
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Defensemen Adam Clendening, Gabriel Carlsson and Dean Kukan appear to be on track for NHL roster spots to open the season, especially with the injuries to Jones and Murray.
Tortorella said Clendening and Carlsson have each done well in camp and Kukan drew praise for his play Tuesday in the Jackets' victory against the Buffalo Sabres in Clinton, N.Y.
Should all three make it, along with defenseman Scott Harrington, the seven healthy blue-liners to start the season are likely to be Werenski, Nutivaara, David Savard, Harrington, Clendening, Carlsson and Kukan.
Figuring out the pairings is what the coaching staff is doing now.
"Once [Nutivaara] started playing with confidence, his game quickened up," Tortorella said. "[Carlsson], I think he's had a really good camp. He missed a year, basically, last year. It was such a tough year for him [with a back injury]. So, there's some push there. Sometimes you get a pretty good idea of what you think you're going to have, [but] then where does everybody fit, in the forward lines and on the back end? There's been some good stuff that's happened in camp."
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The Blue Jackets signed veteran center Mark Letestu to a one-year, two-way NHL/AHL contract Thursday, bringing a popular player back into the organization after not re-signing him as a free agent in the summer.
Letestu, 33, finished last season with Columbus after being re-acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators Feb. 25, a day before the NHL Trade Deadline. He has 93 goals, 117 assists and 210 points in 558 career NHL games, playing for the Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers and Penguins.
Tortorella said Letestu would likely play for the Blue Jackets on Saturday in Chicago.