Camp Hasn't Started and Columbus Is Already Playing Hurt

Three players the Blue Jackets need healthy for this season to work are all day-to-day as of September 10: Valeri Nichushkin, Dmitri Voronkov, and defenseman Damon Severson. That's not a depth problem. That's the top of the roster wobbling before a puck has been dropped in practice.

Nichushkin is the one that stings most. Columbus acquired him from Colorado in June specifically to solve the offensive consistency problem that haunted last season's collapse — the one where Adam Fantilli was firing pucks at a wall and getting nothing back, and the team scored its way to a 2-8 finish. Voronkov, meanwhile, was one of the team's more reliable goal-scorers last season. Losing either of them for any stretch of the opener changes the math on a forward group that was already being rebuilt around new pieces.

The timing is the issue. The prospect tournament starts September 12, which means the organization is about to get its first public look at the next wave while quietly managing uncertainty at the top. That's a fine split-screen if the veterans are fine. It's a more uncomfortable one if "day-to-day" stretches into next week.

Columbus has enough on its plate — Merzlikins still out, Lundestrom's status still unclear, Greaves carrying the net alone. Adding three more question marks to the pre-camp list is just the latest reminder that this rebuild has not had a quiet offseason, and it doesn't look like it's about to start having one now.