Feb 23: A disappointing week later and Highmore has been returned to the AHL. The 26-year-old forward played in two games, both losses, and registered two shots on net.
Feb 18: After moving forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari to Toronto last night, the Blues had a pair of open roster spots to fill. They’ve now decided who will get them as they announced the recalls of Nikita Alexandrov and Matthew Highmore from AHL Springfield.
Alexandrov is up with St. Louis for the fourth time this season. He got into 18 games during the first three opportunities, picking up three goals and two assists, pretty good production for someone who was basically limited to exclusive fourth line duty as he’s averaging just 8:46 per game. The 22-year-old has been much more productive with the Thunderbirds, chipping in with a dozen goals and ten helpers in 28 AHL contests. He’s in the second season of a three-year, entry-level deal carrying a cap hit of just under $817K.
As for Highmore, he’s in his first season with St. Louis after signing a one-year, two-way deal for the NHL minimum with them last summer. The 26-year-old hasn’t seen any NHL action in 2022-23 but has 137 appearances over parts of four seasons with Chicago and Vancouver prior to this year. Highmore has done quite well with Springfield this season, picking up 46 points in 47 games to lead the team in scoring. He’ll be eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.
Meanwhile, the Blues have also assigned Adam Gaudette to Springfield. He was one of the players they picked up in the deal from Toronto and while he’s a bit more experienced than Highmore with 218 career appearances, he’ll stay in the minors for the time being.
Oof. We’ve been on a serious run lately to get back into playoff contention. Recognize that shakeups for minor league teams are inevitable; do not like them all the same.