Zach Bogosian to have surgery on wrist, will miss at least 3 months

By Chris Dubiel

According to multiple reports, Winnipeg Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian will have surgery on Friday to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist. According to a statement from Jets head physician Dr. Peter MacDonald, Bogosian experienced discomfort during off-season workouts and was “limited in his performance.”

After surgery, Bogosian’s recovery time can range anywhere from three to six months, which is no doubt a huge blow to the Jets. In a best-case scenario, Bogosian would be ready to play in the beginning of December, while a worst-scenario would have him returning in late March – early April, which is pretty much the entire season.

With the Jets already against odds to make the playoffs this season, if there is one, their mountain just got much steeper as they’ll be without Bogosian till at least December. The strength of the Jets is their defensive depth, which is counted on to carry some of the offensive load. He notched a career-high 30 points last season, to put him third among Jets d-men and ninth on the team.

Even though he missed some time due to injury, Bogosian still managed to have a pretty nice first season in Winnipeg, giving the Jets high hopes for this season to be his breakout campaign. The 22-year-old was drafted third overall in the 2008 draft and the Jets are hoping he can be a part of a brighter future. The worry now is how his recovery will go and whether he can continue to improve his offensive game once he’s back in game shape.

How will the Jets replace Zach Bogosian? It’s still early but one has to figure they’ll give Paul Postma plenty of minutes in which to show his stuff. Julian Melchiori and Zachary Yuen could also be names to watch if indeed the Jets will be pressed to find a defenseman as early as October. However, with negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA still looking slow, there may not be as many games for Bogosian to miss anyway.

In a summer in which we’ve seen Dustin Byfuglien and Ondrej Pavelec get booked and Evander Kane’s name continually mentioned in trade rumors, the injury to Bogosian just adds to a very forgettable summer of 2012.

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