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Calle Rosen

St. Louis Blues Extend Calle Rosen

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The St. Louis Blues have decided to bring back one of their depth defensemen, signing Calle Rosen to a two-year, two-way contract extension. The team did not immediately release financial details, but Lou Korac of NHL.com reports that it will carry an average annual value of $762.5K at the NHL level and includes strong AHL salaries of $400K in 2022-23 and $450K in 2023-24. Rosen was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Relative to some other players in the minor leagues, those are huge numbers for Rosen and are obviously a nice reward after playing on a one-year, two-way deal worth considerably less this season. The 28-year-old defenseman ended up playing 40 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds during the regular season, suiting up just 18 times for St. Louis.

Things changed in the playoffs as the team desperately needed healthy options, forcing Rosen into the lineup on nine occasions. One of those games, of course, included the collision with Nazem Kadri and Jordan Binnington, one that knocked the netminder out of the series and created an ongoing controversy.

Rosen is an interesting player, as there is very obvious offensive upside that he has shown throughout his time in North America. The undrafted defenseman joined the Toronto Maple Leafs organization in 2017-18 after a successful career in Sweden and posted outstanding numbers in the minor leagues. In 2018-19 he had 46 points in 54 games for the Toronto Marlies, numbers that obviously interested other teams. Coincidentally enough, Rosen was eventually included in the Kadri trade to the Colorado Avalanche in 2019, which saw Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot go the other way.

After another trade took him back to Toronto less than a year later, he ended up a free agent without a ton of NHL experience. The Blues snatched him up, and those 18 regular season appearances nearly matched his previous total.

Now, with a two-year deal in hand, he’ll likely see more time in St. Louis, mostly as an injury replacement or seventh defenseman. The team still has five veteran options signed to one-way contracts for each of the next two seasons, with younger players like Niko Mikkola and Scott Perunovich in need of new deals as restricted free agents this summer.

Calle Rosen Sent To AHL

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Monday: After clearing waivers yesterday, Rosen has now officially been sent back to the Thunderbirds. Springfield will start the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday against the Laval Rocket.

Saturday: It’s rare at this time of year to see someone on regular waivers but that is indeed the case today as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the Blues have placed defenseman Calle Rosen on the wire.  The move is being made with the intention of sending him back to Springfield of the AHL to assist in the playoff run for the Thunderbirds.

The 28-year-old spent most of the season in the minors but he was recalled due to injuries in late March and stayed up the rest of the play and was in the lineup for St. Louis more often than not.  Rosen wound up playing in a career-best 18 regular season games for the Blues this season, collecting seven points while averaging a little over 14 minutes a night.  In the playoffs, he played in all but three of their twelve games, once again logging over 14 minutes per contest.  He was productive in his stints with Springfield as well with 28 points in 40 AHL contests.

If someone was to claim Rosen, he’d be ineligible to play the rest of the season, even if he was picked up by a team that’s still playing.  As he’s an unrestricted free agent this summer, the likely only rationale for a team to claim him would be one of the other teams still participating in the AHL playoffs wanting to prevent Springfield from getting a key player back.  That seldom happens so there’s a good chance Rosen will clear on Sunday and will join Charlie Lindgren (who returned to the minors earlier today) as those going back to help the Blues’ affiliate make a push for the Calder Cup.

Jordan Binnington Suffers Knee Injury

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11:47 AM: Blues head coach Craig Berube has confirmed that Binnington will be out for the rest of the team’s series against the Avalanche.

9:26 AM: Last night’s contest between the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues proved to be a costly one for both sides. The Avalanche lost defenseman Samuel Girard for the rest of the playoffs to a broken sternum, and per reports, the Blues have lost starting goaltender Jordan Binnington for what could end up being several weeks. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports that “good sources” say that Binnington suffered a “possible knee sprain” and could be out for “multiple weeks.”

Binnington suffered his knee injury in the first period of yesterday’s game thanks to a collision with his teammate, Calle Rosen, as well as Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri. With just over 13 minutes left to play in the first period, Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen fired a shot off Binnington, which left a rebound at the top of the crease. Kadri went to pursue the rebound, and Rosen battled him to prevent that scoring chance. As a result of Kadri’s attempt at the loose puck and Rosen’s presence in the same area, Kadri and Rosen both slammed into Binnington. Binnington initially attempted to warm up for a return to action under the watchful eye of a team trainer, but he seemingly aggravated the injury, which necessitated his exit in favor of backup Ville Husso.

Naturally, the play has been controversial, especially so thanks to Kadri’s disciplinary history. After the game, Blues coach Craig Berube was asked about the incident and gave a simple answer: “Look at Kadri’s reputation, that’s all I have to say.” Despite that general sentiment from many on the Blues’ side, it does not seem as though Kadri will face any repercussions from the league for the incident. Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest reports that the NHL Department of Player Safety is “not expected” to issue any reaction to the incident.

The loss of Binnington comes as a major blow to the Blues’ hopes against the Avalanche. While Binnington’s inconsistent play saw him lose the starter’s crease to Husso in the regular season, he has taken it back with his play in the playoffs. Binnington has a 4-0-1 record and a .949 save percentage in these playoffs, numbers that are significantly better than Husso’s 1-3-0, .891 marks. St. Louis is now down 2-1 in their series, so with Binnington now injured the Blues will need Husso’s regular-season form to re-emerge if they want to have any hope of continuing their season.

Marco Scandella Leaves Game With Lower-Body Injury

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Make that four regular defensemen out of the lineup for the St. Louis Blues. On the TBS broadcast of the game, it was revealed that Marco Scandella would not return to Game 4 of the First Round Series between the Blues and the Minnesota Wild with a lower-body injury.

Fortunately for the Blues, youngster Scott Perunovich was ready to go for today’s game after almost four months’ worth of inactivity, permitting them to dress seven defensemen. However, this now means the entirety of the Blues’ top three left defensemen are out of the lineup (Scandella, Torey Krug, Nick Leddy). Right-shot man Robert Bortuzzo is out of the lineup as well.

It’s an incredible turn of bad luck for the Blues, who had a strong start to Game 4 but trail in the series 2-1. Against a team like the Wild who can roll three lines, that many injuries on defense are almost a death sentence for the Blues.

They’ll need Perunovich, Calle Rosen, and Niko Mikkola to step up in a big way, in addition to whatever goalie is in net, in order for the Blues to come back in the series and complete what at this point would be a very large upset.

Torey Krug Out With Upper-Body Injury

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The St. Louis Blues announced that defenseman Torey Krug will miss tonight’s game with an upper-body injury. Krug played in the Blues’ last game on Tuesday against the Boston Bruins, playing 17:53 in an overtime loss. It’s unclear how much time Krug will miss after tonight, if any, but for now the Blues will be without the veteran defenseman as they take on the Sharks in San Jose.

This is not Krug’s first battle with injury this season, as he has missed 15 games thus far. While the Blues have clinched a playoff spot, they are currently battling with the Minnesota Wild for second place in the Central Division, essentially battling for home-ice advantage in a first round series. Going without Krug, a reliable defender who has 40 points in 62 games this season, will not do St. Louis any favors in their battle in the standings, but it’s certainly better to have him out now rather than come playoffs.

Replacing him in the lineup tonight is defenseman Calle Rosen. The 28-year-old Rosen has played in just 14 games at the NHL level this year, however he’s been effective when he’s in the lineup, tallying two goals and five assists from the blueline. Rosen has played more regularly for the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL this season though, having four goals and 24 assists in 40 games at that level.

Pavel Buchnevich Enters COVID Protocol

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The St. Louis Blues have lost another key player, as Pavel Buchnevich is now in the league’s COVID protocol. Buchnevich played more than 21 minutes last night against the Seattle Kraken. The team has recalled Dakota Joshua under emergency conditions to fill the roster spot, while Alexei Toropchenko and Calle Rosen have been assigned to the taxi squad.

Buchnevich, 26, actually scored the winner last night against the Kraken, his 14th goal of the season in just 34 games. A trade from the New York Rangers in the offseason has given him an even bigger offensive opportunity and the third-round pick has run with it, scoring 35 points already. That’s just 13 shy of his career-high, a number he set last season in just 54 games.

While he’ll miss tomorrow’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Monday’s match against the Nashville Predators, Buchnevich could potentially exit the protocol before the Blues head out on the road next week. In the meantime, the team will need to find a different option on the top line and someone to replace Buchnevich on the powerplay and penalty kill.

St. Louis Blues Recall Scott Perunovich

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It was only a matter of time before the St. Louis Blues recalled Scott Perunovich, and that date has finally come. The young defenseman was recalled this morning with the Blues sending Joel Hofer, Dakota Joshua, and Calle Rosen down to make room.

It likely would have been earlier had the Blues not dealt with COVID absences, making their cap situation even more delicate the last several weeks, but the AHL’s best player is finally getting the call. Perunovich has completely dominated the minor leagues this season, recording 20 points in 12 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds. That performance is as a rookie since the 23-year-old failed to suit up even a single time last year due to injury.

The winner of the 2020 Hobey Baker, Perunovich was expected by many to step directly into the NHL upon arrival. While it’s been a long, unexpected wait, it only allowed him to prove once again that he could be one of the most dynamic offensive defensemen at the lower level. Whether he can bring that kind of production to the NHL remains to be seen, but he’ll now finally get the chance.

Given Hofer’s assignment, it’s likely that Ville Husso will also be activated from the COVID protocol in the coming days. The backup netminder has been skating already and only needed to reach a comfortable level of fitness before rejoining the active roster. His absence, and Hofer’s recall, was part of the issue when recalling Perunovich, given the non-roster designation did not remove him from the Blues cap.

Krug Placed In COVID Protocol; Schenn Returns To St. Louis

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The St. Louis Blues will be without the services of another important player, announcing that Torey Krug has been placed in the COVID protocol. The team has recalled Calle Rosen from the AHL, moving Dakota Joshua down in his place. Not only is Krug is unavailable for the time being, but so is Brayden Schenn, who is dealing with an upper-body injury and has returned to St. Louis for further evaluation.

It’s not all bad news for the Blues, who also are getting Ryan O’Reilly back after his own COVID quarantine. General manager Doug Armstrong explained that O’Reilly has rejoined the team on the road trip and is expected to be ready to play on Sunday. The captain’s return comes at the perfect time as the team deals with both injuries and COVID-related absences.

In fact, the Blues could be in a very tricky situation if anyone else is ruled out. Armstrong told reporters including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic that given they have just 21 players now and could have to play short. St. Louis doesn’t have the cap space to recall anyone else, given they were already using almost all of the flexibility created by placing Oskar Sundqvist on injured reserve. If they do have to play short at any point, the team would be able to make an emergency recall afterward to bring up a player without his cap hit. That would only be until the injured players are ready to return, but would at least keep them from icing a shortened roster.

Losing Krug and Schenn at the same though is a brutal hit for the team given how important they are. Krug averages nearly 21 minutes of ice time and has eight points in his first nine games, while Schenn had been carrying a big part of the load at center with O’Reilly out. The 30-year-old forward’s six points in nine games trails several others, but he is still a huge part of their game plan at both ends of the rink.

12 Players Clear Waivers

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Oct 8: All 12 players have cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues.

Oct 7: There were 30 players that hit waivers yesterday, but today’s list is quite a bit smaller. Just a dozen names are available for claim according to Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star. Those names are:

Troy Grosenick (BOS)
Brian Lashoff (DET)
Ryan Murphy (DET)
Andrew Hammond (MIN)
Kyle Rau (MIN)
A.J. Greer (NJD)
Louis Domingue (PIT)
Sam Anas (STL)
Charlie Lindgren (STL)
Calle Rosen (STL)
Steven Santini (STL)
Nathan Walker (STL)

Once again there are some interesting names on the list, including a quartet of experienced netminders. As teams deal with late-camp absences, those goaltenders could end up switching teams for a short period of time. There will be many, many more names placed on waivers in the coming days, however, as the regular season starts in less than a week.

St. Louis Blues Sign Calle Rosen

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The St. Louis Blues have shored up their defensive depth a bit more, signing Calle Rosen to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal is expected to pay Rosen $750K in the NHL and $300K in the AHL.

Rosen, 27, came over from Sweden in 2017 as a highly-touted defenseman, but has struggled to find his way in the NHL. With just 20 games at that level to this point, a deal here for the Blues is more about minor league depth than anything else. In 2020-21, Rosen spent the entire season with the Toronto Marlies, scoring 13 points in 20 games.

He’s proven himself to be an excellent AHL option, even able to play the top-pair at times. While there may be a handful of NHL games in his future should the Blues experience several injuries, the depth chart is looking pretty long already. St. Louis has seven defensemen under one-way contracts, plus names like Steven Santini and Scott Perunovich waiting for an opportunity. Rosen is likely ticketed for the Springfield Thunderbirds after training camp, as long as he clears waivers.

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