Metropolitan Notes: Johnson, Voronkov, Blake, Roy

Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson will not need surgery on his injured shoulder, GM Don Waddell confirmed to reporters including Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link).  However, that shouldn’t be construed that it won’t be a long-term injury as originally reported.  Instead, the team simply feels that the injury can be treated with rehab.  This is the second straight year that the 22-year-old has dealt with injury troubles and he was off to a good start before sustaining it as he had five points in his first four games.  He still technically hasn’t been moved to injured reserve at this time but that’s something that should happen in the coming days whenever they have to open up a roster spot.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

• Still with Columbus, forward Dmitri Voronkov was a partial participant in practice today and appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from a shoulder injury, reports Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch. The 24-year-old suffered the injury late in the preseason.  Voronkov had a solid rookie season for the Blue Jackets in 2023-24, picking up 18 points and 16 assists and with the injuries they’re dealing with, getting him back a little earlier than expected would be some rare positive news on that front.
• The Hurricanes have once again sent winger Jackson Blake to AHL Chicago, per the AHL’s transactions log. They’ve done this four times already this season in an effort to bank a bit more cap room.  The 21-year-old has two goals in six games with Carolina so far so it’s safe to say he’ll be brought back up in time for puck drop against Seattle on Saturday.
• Capitals defenseman Matt Roy skated today before practice notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 29-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in Washington’s season opener and hasn’t played since.  Roy was their most prominent free agent signing over the summer, inking a six-year, $34.5MM contract after putting up 25 points in nearly 21 minutes a night last season with Los Angeles.  While he’s now back on the ice, he did not accompany the team on their road trip to Tampa Bay.