Roster News - Nov. 7

Jackets GM Doug MacLean and Coach Gerard Gallant have made a few small roster moves.

-Shelley was scratched for Saturday's loss to Detroit, though Gallant says that it is only a temporary move.

-Duvie Westcott has elected to have surgery now to repair is broken finger. His spot on the blue line will be filled by Aaron Johnson, though his special teams time will likely go to Anders Erikson. Westcott will be on IR for 6-8 weeks, which is to the serious detriment of the Columbus offense. The defenseman is tied with Rick Nash for 2nd in team scoring.

-Brian Berard is still out of commission following back surgery. The defenseman will likely return to the ice in late January.

MacLean has stated that he is looking to make a trade for another defenseman to alleviate the injury situation. Unfortunately, the trade market is too slow to get any good options. Hopefully it will heat up in coming weeks.

While the jackets injury situation will weaken an already struggling team, I can't help but feel sorry for the Blackhawks. Khabibulin, Lalime, and Havlat are all out for injuries, and Handzus will be gone for the rest of the regular season, minimum.


Other significant injuries from around the league:
Phoenix: Comrie, Reinprecht, and Ricci all out indefinitely
Buffalo: Afinogenov out indefinitely
Carolina: Kaberle, Letowski, Stillman
Florida: Bertuzzi, Nieuwendyk