Kristian Huselius to Miss 4-6 Months for Columbus Blue Jackets

After an offseason of improvement, the Columbus Blue Jackets were dealt a blow today.

A report from Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch says that Kristian Huselius will be out four to six months with a torn pectoral muscle picked up while lifting weights in Sweden.

It's a tough break for a team that made significant roster changes to get better.

Huselius was in the running to be the third man on the top line alongside Rick Nash and Jeff Carter. It was also supposed to be a bounce back year after dealing with injuries and inconsistent play for much of last season.

The injury should put the Blue Jackets back on the market for a top-six forward, a place Blue Jackets fans know all too well.

They will be looking for a player in much the same mold as Huselius who has averaged nearly 50 points per season over his three years with the Jackets.

Happening very late in the free-agent season, it may be hard to find the player the Jackets are looking for without a trade. Few real options are available at the moment in the market, in fact many are former Blue Jackets. Names like Ethan Moreau, Chris Clark and Nikolai Zherdev are among the dwindling list of names still out there.

The Jackets may also look inward and give some younger faces a chance to fill the void if they can't find a replacement quickly. Names like Ryan Johansen, Tomas Kubalik and Matt Calvert come to mind.

In any case, the Blue Jackets have to make the most out of a bad situation. Hopefully they can find a way to keep their offseason mojo going.