The St. Louis Blues are set to bring in center Chris Porter on a professional tryout deal, reports Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. Porter spent last season with the Minnesota Wild, playing in a career high 61 games, collecting four goals and three assists in a fourth line role while averaging 9:38 of ice time per game.
Porter is no stranger to St. Louis having spent the majority of his career in their organization. He has suited up for the Blues in parts of six seasons, picking up 27 points in 173 games.
St. Louis has five forwards participating at the World Cup of Hockey in Vladimir Tarasenko, Dmitrij Jaskin, Jori Lehtera, Patrik Berglund (who was just added today), and Vladimir Sobotka (who is expected to play with the Blues after spending time in the KHL), the latter three being centers. On the surface, it appears that Porter could just be in camp to fill in for one of those players in the exhibition season. However, a strong camp could give him a shot at a depth spot on the roster or potentially a two-way contract but he may have to beat out several other forwards attending on invites, including T.J. Galiardi, Eric Nystrom, and Yan Stastny.
[Related: Blues Depth Chart]
With training camps fast approaching, it’s likely going to be a busy week in terms of players getting tryout contracts. Keep tabs on who goes where with our Invite Tracker.