The Blues announced Thursday morning that they’ve recalled defenseman Tyler Tucker from AHL Springfield. He takes Pierre-Olivier Joseph’s spot on the active roster after the fellow left-shot was traded to the Penguins last night for future considerations.
It’s Tucker’s first recall of the season after he landed on waivers in early October. The 24-year-old was the odd man out in a battle for depth spots that included Joseph, Matthew Kessel and Scott Perunovich. The pending Group VI unrestricted free agent is now in his fourth season as an alternate captain for Springfield and is on pace for a career-best season offensively, posting 10 points in 19 games with 39 PIMs and a +6 rating.
Tucker, a seventh-round pick out of the Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts in 2018, has 52 NHL appearances with the Blues in the past two seasons. The 6’2″, 205-lb checker has two goals and four assists with a -8 rating while averaging a light workload at 13:33 per game. Tucker also leads Blues defensemen in hits per 60 minutes (9.71) since the beginning of the 2022-23 season.
Unfortunately, his physicality hasn’t translated into an effective defensive presence, at least at even strength. Despite Tucker starting 54.4% of his shifts in the offensive zone, St. Louis has only controlled 45.5% of shot attempts and 45.3% of expected goals with him on the ice.
Tucker will likely stick around on the Blues’ roster as a No. 7 option until Nick Leddy is ready to return from the lower-body injury that’s kept him out for over two months. He can remain on the active roster for up to 30 non-consecutive days or appear in 10 games until he requires waivers again to head back to Springfield.