“After talking to many people and many doctors we came to the conclusion that as of right now, I'm not capable of coming back, I won't be coming back anytime soon," Voracek told reporters, via Craig Merz of NHL.com. "Obviously, I'm going to make my best efforts to do that (return) but it might be a long process and as of now I don't see myself playing in the near future.

Losing Voráček is a big blow to a Jackets team that has stumbled out of the gate through the first quarter of 2022-23, and it’s going to take a miraculous second-half surge to gain ground in the playoff race.

With The Buckeye State set to launch sports betting on Jan. 1, 2023, Jackets fans will soon be able to place wagers on their team through the many available Ohio Sportsbooks. There are many special offers for new customers upon signing up, such as $200 from BetMGM and $100 in free bets from FanDuel plus a free three-month subscription to NBA League Pass.

Offense has been hard to come by all season long in Columbus, and now they must try to get by without one of their most reliable forwards. Prior to his injury, Voráček had one goal and five assists in 11 games.

“I had a lot of head injuries in the past and that's something I've got to think about and be smart about and that's where I stand right now,” Voráček said, via Merz.

"If I'm going to be medically cleared, I'm going to try. We'll see about that," he said. "And retirement? I can't retire, I'm still under contract. I would like to finish it off. If I'm going to be able to, I'll be happy about that. If I won't be, that's going to be up to doctors.”

Voráček spent his first three NHL seasons with Columbus before getting traded to the Philadelphia Flyers as part of the 2011 Jeff Carter blockbuster. In the 2021 offseason, Columbus reunited with Voráček via trade with Philadelphia in exchange for forward Cam Atkinson.

In 1,058 career games, Voráček has 223 goals and 806 points. He has one year remaining on his current deal

Kirill Marchenko Recalled From AHL

(source:https://www.nhl.com/bluejacket...)

The Blue Jackets announced on Monday that forward Kirill Marchenko has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.

The 6-foot-3, 187-pound winger was drafted 49th overall by Columbus in 2018. The 22-year-old played for SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL before signing a deal with the Blue Jackets back in May.

Marchenko has been one of the Monsters’ top players early in the 2022-23 AHL campaign, with eight goals and 11 assists in 16 games. In his final season with SKA Saint Petersburg, Marchenko had 12 goals and eight assists in 39 games.

Back in August, NHL.com ranked Marchenko as the Blue Jackets’ No. 2 prospect, behind only 2021 first-round pick Kent Johnson (taken fifth overall that year). Given Columbus’ struggles on offense, and the fact this is simply a rebuilding year, they have nothing to lose in giving Marchenko his first NHL action.

Johnny Gaudreau’s Parents Thought He Was Staying In Calgary

(source:https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/ne...)

New Blue Jackets superstar Johnny Gaudreau stunned the hockey world when he signed a massive seven-year deal worth $68.25 million with Columbus in free agency.

The move was surprising for so many reasons. One, the Blue Jackets have never landed a big-time star in free agency. They have a long history of losing superstar players in their prime years (see Rick Nash, Sergei Bobrovsky, Jeff Carter and Artemi Panarin), and the Jackets aren’t exactly viewed as a championship contender.

The New Jersey native was widely expected to either re-sign with the Calgary Flames or join a team closer to his home state — the Devils, New York Islanders or Philadelphia Flyers. But “Johnny Hockey” reportedly turned down more money from Calgary (an eight-year, $84 million offer) and wound up joining a rebuilding team in Columbus.

If it makes Calgary fans feel any better, even Gaudreau’s parents didn’t think he would leave the franchise that turned him into a superstar.

On a recent edition of the Raising a Champion podcast (h/t Aaron Vickers of Daily Hive), Gaudreau’s father Guy and mother Jane revealed that even they thought their son would stay put in Calgary.

“It’s funny because I went to work that day, the day of free agency, because prior to that we thought that John was definitely staying with Calgary,” Jane explained. “I know Calgary fans don’t believe that, some of them, but up until the 12th hour we thought that he was staying with Calgary.”

“I know he wanted to play (at home) home, but I was up there and he said ‘dad, I want to go to free agency,’” Guy said. “What? It was a surprise to me.”

Losing Gaudreau in free agency was the first of two major blows for the 2022 Pacific Division champions. Calgary’s other superstar forward, Matthew Tkachuk, sought a trade and was eventually dealt to the Florida Panthers.

Calgary GM Brad Treliving managed to get back another star forward in Jonathan Huberdeau and blueliner MacKenzie Weegar as part of the return. Fresh off a Stanley Cup victory with Colorado, star center Nazem Kadri then signed a seven-year, $49 million pact with the Flames to further help offset the losses of Tkachuk and Gaudreau.

While the Flames are still in playoff contention, the Blue Jackets have greatly struggled with Voracek and sniper Patrik Laine missing ample time due to injury. But Gaudreau has been worth every penny for the Jackets up to this point, and he’s a valuable player they can build around long-term.