{"id":556092,"date":"2026-04-19T15:28:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T15:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/556092\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T15:28:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T15:28:05","slug":"severson-rebound-for-columbus-blue-jackets-had-another-tough-ending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/556092\/","title":{"rendered":"Severson rebound for Columbus Blue Jackets had another tough ending"},"content":{"rendered":"

Damon Severson<\/a> ended the past two seasons watching the Blue Jackets fall short of the playoffs<\/a>, but the reasons for each absence couldn\u2019t be more different<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More: Blue Jackets will have to make playoff push without Damon Severson<\/a><\/p>\n

A year ago, under former coach Dean Evason<\/a>, Severson watched the last nine games as a healthy scratch while the Jackets finished two points out<\/a> despite wrapping up with a six-game winning streak. This year, under new coach Rick Bowness<\/a>, Severson missed the final 10 games with a shoulder injury that required surgery.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just weird,\u201d Severson said. \u201cThere’s reasons for why [I was scratched last year], and how that all shook out, but it was just frustrating. I feel like I could\u2019ve helped last year, but this year, especially, a lot more. It\u2019s just a tale of two different seasons. Last year, being told I\u2019m not playing, and then this year, unfortunately, not having a choice with the injury.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Columbus<\/p>\n

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski (8) celebrates a goal by defenseman Damon Severson (78) during the first period of the NHL hockey game against the Seattle Kraken at Nationwide Arena on March 21, 2026.<\/p>\n

Severson had stretches of strong play and some slumps in 2024-25, which eventually contributed to Evason benching him as the season concluded.<\/p>\n

This season, his third with the Blue Jackets, Severson was determined to regain an everyday role and a spot with one of the top two defensive pairings. After mostly achieving that to start Evason’s second season at the helm, the veteran defenseman reached an even higher level when Bowness was hired in a surprising Jan. 12 coaching switch.<\/p>\n

Prior to the shakeup, Severson had three goals, 14 assists, 17 points, a +1 plus\/minus rating and 5.1% shooting percentage while averaging 20:58 in ice time over 45 games. After Bowness took over, his scoring line was 5-10-15 with a +17 plus\/minus and 14.7% shooting percentage while averaging 23:59 in 26 games.<\/p>\n

Severson had also carved out a role as Zach Werenski\u2019s primary partner on the top pairing, playing a supportive role perfectly for a likely finalist to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL\u2019s best defenseman.<\/p>\n

\"Columbus<\/p>\n

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson (78) celebrates a goal with defenseman Zach Werenski (8) during the third period of the NHL game against the New York Rangers at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on March 19, 2026. The Blue Jackets won 6-3.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big believer in myself,\u201d Severson said. \u201cI\u2019m a confident person, and I do firmly believe that last year, I should\u2019ve been in the lineup for the last 10 games. It’s weird, for sure, but you can\u2019t dwell too much on the past. There\u2019s nothing I can do about that now. \u2026 Hopefully next year in the last 10 games of the year, I\u2019m healthy, everything\u2019s going well and we\u2019re in the hunt for the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s how it turns out, Severson feels that Bowness will play a key role.<\/p>\n

The veteran coach went off after the Jackets\u2019 lackluster loss to the Washington Capitals in their April 14 season finale, one day after being eliminated, but Severson and many of his teammates are thrilled that Bowness agreed to a one-year contract extension.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the best coach I’ve personally ever had,\u201d Severson said. \u201cI\u2019ve had a couple really good coaches. I\u2019ve had some really not good coaches. But Bones has been the best one so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why does he feel that way?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can just tell he\u2019s a good human being,\u201d Severson said. \u201cI think I\u2019m a pretty good judge of character, and I\u2019ve played for some people who aren\u2019t the greatest human beings, and I\u2019m not going to throw any names under the bus, but Bones is just top-notch. You can tell he wants the best for every individual.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Columbus<\/p>\n

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson (78) arrives on the blue carpet for the Plaza Party outside Nationwide Arena prior to the team’s home opener NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in Columbus on Oct. 13, 2025.<\/p>\n

As for how this season ended, Severson has already grappled with his poor luck. He was injured March 26 in Montreal during a shoulder-to-shoulder hit against Canadiens forward Zachary Bolduc.<\/p>\n

Despite what the Blue Jackets initially told reporters, there was no hope for Severson to return in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of those things that was really, really frustrating,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I just tried to support the guys the best I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger<\/a> can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com<\/a> and @BrianHedger.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Severson rebound for Columbus Blue Jackets had another tough ending<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Damon Severson ended the past two seasons watching the Blue Jackets fall short of the playoffs, but the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5108],"tags":[3644,5180,897,230,5179,8744,2923,5,264,4,12090,109,2566,1484],"class_list":{"0":"post-556092","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-columbus-blue-jackets","8":"tag-blue-jackets","9":"tag-bluejackets","10":"tag-columbus","11":"tag-columbus-blue-jackets","12":"tag-columbusbluejackets","13":"tag-damon-severson","14":"tag-dean-evason","15":"tag-hockey","16":"tag-montreal","17":"tag-nhl","18":"tag-rick-bowness","19":"tag-washington-capitals","20":"tag-zach-werenski","21":"tag-zachary-bolduc"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116432085161417888","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}