Columbus Blue Jackets grant Alexandre Texier a leave of absence

The Columbus Blue Jackets granted forward Alexandre Texier an indefinite leave of absence from the team on Thursday.

“Recently, ‘Tex’ has experienced personal losses of people very close to him and our priority right now is to support him in every way possible,” Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen said in a statement. “We are going to give him the time he needs and look forward to welcoming him back to the Blue Jackets family when he is ready.”

Texier, 22, hails from St. Martin D’heres, France. He is in his fourth NHL season, all with Columbus.

Texier has been sidelined since Jan. 26 with a fractured finger. He was working his way back to the lineup in recent days and weeks before leaving the team.

Texier recently popped up on Daily Faceoff‘s Trade Targets list, checking in at No. 25 in the latest ranking.

Texier generated interest for his flash and dash, plus his step up in production this season. He is close to a 25-goal pace over a full 82-game season. His contract is also team friendly. Texier has one more year remaining at $1.525 million.

The Blue Jackets could be one of the more interesting non-playoff teams to watch ahead of the March 21 trade deadline. Columbus has three other Trade Targets on the board, including Joonas Korpisalo, Max Domi and Jack Roslovic.