from Matt Larkin of The Hockey News,

Sergei Bobrovsky’s misfortune looks like the last straw for Columbus in 2014-15. He’d already missed time with a fractured finger and brief illness, and his lower-body injury Wednesday night against the Winnipeg Jets looked grim. The extent won’t be clear until his MRI results come in, but Bobrovsky had to be helped off the ice.

Now it’s time for GM Jarmo Kekalainen to swallow his pride and realize this season wasn’t meant to be. If Bobrovsky is seriously hurt, it’s obviously a knockout blow for a team 14 points out of a playoff spot. And if the injury is, say, a minor sprain, there’s no reason to rush back a precious commodity freshly signed to a four-year, $29.7-million contract extension. The Jackets are finished.

The important thing to realize: that’s totally OK. The future remains extremely bright. Columbus was simply dealt a bad hand this season. Kekalainen and John Davidson have built a well-rounded, gritty, improving team. Ryan Johansen continues to look like a star, and Nick Foligno has taken his game to a new stratosphere. Murray has shown flashes of a Ryan Suter-like upside at just 21 and has plenty of time to improve if he can stay healthy. This team has a lot of young help on the way, too. Alexander Wennberg, 20, hasn’t made waves as a rookie but is a dynamic young prospect, likened to Henrik Zetterberg. Guys like Kerby Rychel, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Marko Dano look good, too. There’s no denying flashy Sonny Milano has a sky-high ceiling, even if he was a risky first-round pick last June.

Kekalainen’s next move should be to assess what pieces of his roster are expendable and can be used to secure more long-term assets before the trade deadline.

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