The Blue Jackets announced Wednesday that forward Alexandre Texier will return to the club for the 2023-24 season after missing the entire 2022-23 season "per the advice and recommendation of the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program."
#CBJ announced that F Alexandre Texier will return for the 2023-24 season.
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) April 19, 2023
“Alexandre Texier is an outstanding, young player who is an important part of our team and we are excited that he will be rejoining the club as expected next season,” Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen said. “His well-being has been our sole priority and we couldn’t be happier that he is ready to resume what is a very promising NHL career at this time.”
While this season was the second of a two-year, $1.525M contract that Texier signed in 2021, the second year will cover the upcoming season, so he will not need to sign a new deal.
In 46 regular season games with the ZSC Lions in 2022-23, Texier registered 13-22--35 in addition to 2-3--5 in nine playoff games. In 123 NHL games, he's posted 22-27--49 including 11-9--20 in 32 games in 2021-22. He's also scored 2-5--7 in 18 playoff contests.
When Kekalainen announced that Texier would be returning, I wrote about how that would impact the team.
Alex Texier's return means the Blue Jackets add a middle-six winger in 2023-24. #CBJ https://t.co/o3ULcN9pKO
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) March 7, 2023
Texier, 23, was the 45th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and will be a boost for the Blue Jackets next season.
