Columbus Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky was announced by the organization as injured and will miss 4-6 weeks.

The injury is being described as a strained oblique and the player will be placed on injured reserve by the team after it was announced by club General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen that the strain was suffered during practice on Sunday.

Dubinsky, 32, was one of the more reliable forwards for the Blue Jackets and this news comes at a time that the club is not facing wonderful news on some of its best players. Dynamic forward Artemi Panarin is surrounded by questions of his long-term future with the club and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is questionable to stay with the team. Stud defenseman Seth Jones is also out with an injury. The last thing Columbus needed was for one of its team leaders to go down.

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Dubinsky has posted points in each of the Jackets' first two games this season with a goal and an assist for two points. He was also 68.8 percent in the faceoff circle as one of the team's top centermen. The injury will leave the team with young and talented, but also unproven players like Pierre-Luc Dubois, Alexander Wennberg and Boone Jenner to produce most of the offense from his position.

Over 764 games in the NHL with the Blue Jackets and New York Rangers, Dubinsky has posted 148 goals and 278 assists for 426 points. He's also not shy about mixing it up with 869 penalty minutes to his credit. Since joining Columbus, he's earned 213 points and 412 penalty minutes in 371 career games. Certainly, the club will miss his contributions on the ice and in the locker room.

The Blue Jackets return to action on Tuesday, October 9 when they host the Colorado Avalanche. The team is currently sitting with one win and one loss in two regular season games.

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