Jackets' Gaborik to miss 4-6 weeks
Columbus Blue Jackets winger Marian Gaborik will be sidelined four to six weeks with a sprained knee, the team announced Friday.
The 31-year-old veteran, acquired from the New York Rangers last season, has 11 points in 17 games this season for the Blue Jackets, who are off to a slow start and stuck in last place in the Metropolitan Division with a 6-10-2 record entering Friday night's game against the Montreal Canadiens.
Gaborik was injured during the Blue Jackets' overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.
Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards told The Columbus Dispatch that he hopes Gaborik could return in three to four weeks.
"There is a hole. But now we're looking for somebody to step up and fill that hole," Richards said. "There is ice time to be had. He was playing 16, 17 minutes -- and important minutes: power play, six-on-five, whatever situation really dictated us needing a goal. There are going to be opportunities there for somebody."
In 29 games since the trade last season, Gaborik has 19 points.
He is the Blue Jackets' highest paid player at $7.5 million this season. Gaborik is in the final year of his contract.
