The Columbus Blue Jackets were hoping to get Brandon Dubinsky back from injury this week, but that won’t be happening as the team sent him home from their current road trip.
According to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, the Blue Jackets told Dubinsky to go home and deal with “ongoing personal issues that have hampered his season and could threaten his career.” All the team would add is that the 31-year-old forward would be away indefinitely.
Dubinsky has been out of the lineup since Dec. 12 when he suffered a facial fracture during a fight with Edmonton Oilers forward Zack Kassian. The Blue Jackets were in Vegas for four days before playing the Golden Knights on Tuesday and head to Arizona to play the Coyotes on Thursday, their final game before the All-Star break.
All parties are saying this isn’t any form of punishment. In fact, according to Dubinsky’s agent Kurt Overhardt, he was sent home for a “medical diagnosis” as the forward has been dealing with “several issues” this season.
.@BlueJacketsNHL say Brandon Dubinsky has left team to see a doctor; deny it’s a disciplinary measure although the two sides had a ‘conversation’ before he left for personal reasons. Team will not comment officially on the matter - one source told me “because we can’t.”
— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) January 24, 2018
None of this will prevent some from speculating, and all we can hope for at this moment is the best for Dubinsky.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.