"Every now and then, an NHL team loses a player for a long period of time when he isn't even playing hockey. It happened when Sami Salo suffered a freak injury during a game of floor hockey in 2010 and Kristian Huselius seems like the 2011 example after he tore his pectoral muscle while lifting weights.

The injury (and resulting surgery) is expected to keep Huselius out of action for 4-6 months, meaning he probably won't be ready for NHL action until November (at the earliest) or January (if he falls in the later end of the scale). That's a tough blow for Huselius and the Blue Jackets, but perhaps they should have seen his injury woes coming; he only played in 39 games during the 2010-11 season.

Either way, the Blue Jackets are without a top six forward. The Columbus Dispatch's Aaron Portzline lays out their options, which seemingly boil down to signing a free agent or finding a team willing to make a deal that won't cost them a top prospect such as Ryan Johansen."