At practice this morning, the Blue Jackets gave us a pleasant update. Defenseman Damon Severson was taking full part, skating on the top pairing alongside Zach Werenski. If he can make his season debut against Pittsburgh on Thursday, that would be great news.
Damon Severson is back skating with Zach Werenski.
— Dylan Tyrer (@DylanTyrer) October 5, 2026
Last week, Rick Bowness indicated the #CBJ would like to have Severson back in the lineup this weekend. https://t.co/eqaaNc2cV0
Severson has been out since suffering a season ending shoulder injury on March 26th. That injury ultimately required surgery, with the long rehab time keeping him out of contact drills until late into training camp.
The Jackets wisely chose to play it safe and allow him to fully get back into game shape before putting him in their lineup. Even though this resulted in the team digging deep into their depth chart, you never want to rush a guy back too early and risk aggravating the injury.
Sevo played like a top pairing guy last year.
After struggling to find firm footing in his first two seasons in Columbus, Severson finally played like the top pairing guy they needed him to be last year. He had a very strong campaign, giving Zach Werenski an excellent support piece that allowed him to win the Norris Trophy.
He was especially effective down the stretch, scoring 15 points in 27 games under Rick Bowness. The new system seemed perfectly tuned to his game, and allowed Damon to post one of the best stretches of hockey in his entire career.
With that in mind, it shouldn't come as any surprise that this team struggled mightily once he left the lineup due to injury. Without him on the top pairing, the team went 2-7-1, falling from second in the division to missing the playoffs entirely.
So, it should also not come as a surprise that this team has had a hard time getting out of their own end early in this season. Denton Mateychuk has done a magnificent job filling in, but it goes without saying that this team will be even stronger with #78 back on the top pair, moving him back to the second pair.
Severson returning would also mean Jake Christiansen comes out of the lineup. Christiansen has not earned the trust of this coaching staff, and is averaging just 8:26 per game through the first two.
Replacing him with 20+ minutes of a veteran of 855 NHL games in Severson is a clear and obvious upgrade. Hopefully Damon picks up right where he left off last year, and helps this team find their "A" game.
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