- The Blues announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Ville Husso from San Antonio of the AHL. The move isn’t as a result of injury but rather a contingency plan if backup Carter Hutton is unavailable for tonight’s game against Columbus with his wife expecting to give birth shortly. Husso, a fourth-rounder of St. Louis back in 2014, has yet to play in the NHL but is off to a good start in the minors this season with a .927 save percentage in his first three starts.
Blues Rumors
St. Louis Blues Recall Beau Bennett From AHL
- The St. Louis Blues have recalled Beau Bennett, giving the team a 13th forward on the roster. The team sent Ivan Barbashev and Samuel Blais down yesterday, giving the youngsters more ice time to develop. Bennett is still relatively young at 25, but has plenty of NHL experience already under his belt. A first-round pick of the Penguins in 2010, Bennett put up 19 points for the New Jersey Devils last season but wasn’t issued a qualifying offer this summer. The Blues’ signed him to a one-year, $650K contract but sent him to the AHL to start the year. He’ll provide some depth for the bottom-six, and try to show that he belongs in the NHL full-time.
Minor Transactions: 10/22/17
Here’s where we’ll keep tabs on the minor news and notes throughout the day with the most recent moves at the top:
- The St. Louis Blues have reassigned Samuel Blais and Ivan Barbashev to the AHL, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Blais was called up on Oct. 13 to take over a role on the team’s second line. He played in four games, but only put up one assist in that time. The prospect had an impressive campaign with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves last year, putting up 26 goals as a 20-year-old. While it surprised many that he didn’t make the Blues squad out of training camp, Blais put up three goals and an assist in his first two games with the San Antonio Rampage and was immediate called up as the team was hoping he could revitalize their offense. However, his ice time has decreased and he was often moved to the team’s third line. Blais will return to San Antonio. Barbashev played six games for St. Louis, but didn’t produce a point and was a healthy scratch for the team’s first two games. His ice time was also reduced to the point where he played just under eight minutes against the Golden Knights on Saturday. He will be sent to the Chicago Wolves, according to Thomas. There have been no corresponding call ups.
- The Minnesota Wild announced a few transactions today, sending forwards Luke Kunin, Zack Mitchell and Cal O’Reilly to the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Kunin and Mitchell had been with the team since Wednesday, while O’Reilly was called up Saturday before their game against the Calgary Flames. Michael Russo of The Athletic tweets they are only being sent down temporarily as the team will likely need them for Tuesday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. All three saw action against Calgary Saturday. Kunin, the team’s 2016 first-round pick, saw the most time (11:47) and contributed two assists to the team’s 4-2 comeback victory. O’Reilly played 8:16 seconds, while Mitchell was on the ice for 7:17. Neither registered a point.
- The Montreal Canadiens have recalled both Nikita Scherbak and Michael McCarron after their latest defeat at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks. Montreal has had trouble scoring goals and defending this season, and with a 1-6-1 record likely want to shake up the lineup. The team will need to make two corresponding moves to make room for the youngsters on the roster. Both Scherbak and McCarron were first-round picks by the Canadiens, and have gotten off to nice starts in the AHL. With a combined 13 points through six games, perhaps they’ll be able to infuse some offense into the struggling Montreal attack.
Parayko Expected To Play Tonight
- Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post Dispatch writes that St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko is expected to play tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights. The 24-year-old blueliner was questionable after taking a puck to his left hand early in the third period of Thursday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. He was removed from the remainder of the game. However, Timmermann writes he practiced today and coach Mike Yeo gave him a clean bill of health. Entering his third season, Parayko might be needed against the 5-1 Golden Knights. He has a goal and two assists in eight games.
- The St. Louis Post Dispatch’s Jeff Gordon responds to fan questions in his column and addresses Robby Fabbri’s impending restricted free agency this offseason. The young star, who is out for the year after re-injuring his surgically repaired knee, will be in a tricky situation since he hasn’t played since Feb. 4. Gordon suggests the team sign him to a short term and low AAV deal to see how he responds to his recovery. If he bounces back, then give the 21-year-old a long-term deal.
Tendon Issue Delaying Bouwmeester's Recovery
- Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester hasn’t started skating since suffering a fractured ankle back in mid-September and Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (subscription required) suggests that a tendon issue may be causing the recovery to go longer than expected. There was no initial timetable given for how long he might be out of the lineup so it’s difficult to tell if he has suffered a setback. When healthy, the 34-year-old is a big part of their back end, logging over 22 minutes per game in each of his five seasons with the team.
Wade Megan Clears Waivers, Assigned To Chicago Wolves
- Wade Megan cleared waivers for the St. Louis Blues and was assigned to the Chicago Wolves. Megan had been placed on waivers when Alex Steen was activated from the injured reserve, and had only played one game for the Blues. He’ll now return to Chicago where he played last season, breaking out for 66 points in 73 games. That kind of production had never been seen from the 27-year old previously, leading to him being a legitimate depth option for the Blues this year.
St. Louis Blues Place Wade Megan On Waivers, Activate Alex Steen
After sitting out the first few weeks with a hand injury, Alex Steen has been activated by the St. Louis Blues and will be in the lineup tonight when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks. To make room for the returning Steen, Wade Megan has been placed on waivers. Megan had played in just one game with the Blues, and will likely be assigned to the AHL should he clear waivers tomorrow.
Steen is an important part of the Blues’ forward group, and he’ll rejoin a team that has lost a pair of matches after going 4-0 to start the year. The team has struggled to find much secondary scoring this season, something that Steen will look to change. With his return, the forward depth should improve as players are slotted into more familiar roles. Still, with Patrik Berglund, Robby Fabbri and Zachary Sanford out long-term, the team will need to get more from their bottom-six.
Megan is an AHL veteran who made his NHL debut last season, but was never likely in the plans as much more than a depth option. His 2016-17 season was impressive, with 66 points for the Chicago Wolves, but he hasn’t been able to carry that scoring ability over to the next level. He’ll serve as a valuable extra piece waiting to get recalled should he make it through waivers.
Blues Notes: Steen, Dunn, Thompson, Stastny
Don’t be shocked if the St. Louis Blues put Alex Steen immediately onto the top line the moment he is healthy, which could be soon, according to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford. Taking mailbag questions, the scribe writes that while most people, including himself, believed that Steen would come back to the team’s second line, the recent promotion of Samuel Blais might change things. The team believes that Blais might take off on the team’s second line. The 21-year-old prospect had a great preseason and started hot with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage with three goals in two games. Rutherford believes that if Blais mixes in well with the second line, then the more likely option for Steen would be to move him to the first line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Paul Stastny. That would force Vladimir Sobotka to move down from the first line to the team’s third line, where the team has really struggled so far this year.
Steen, who scored 16 goals and 51 points a season ago broke his hand on Sept. 19 and is believed to be travelling with the team and close to returning to game action soon.
Other notes from Rutherford:
- The scribe writes that when defenseman Jay Bouwmeester returns, the team may be in for a tough decision. Bouwmeester, who is recovering from a fractured ankle, could come back within the next week or two, will force the team to cut a defenseman. While Rutherford writes that rookie blueliner Vince Dunn has been impressive through five games, including scoring his first goal and putting up five shots in his last game and looking solid on defense. However, it is likely the team will send Dunn down rather than bench defenseman Carl Gunnarsson when Bouwmeester returns.
- Rutherford adds that former 2016 first-rounder Tage Thompson’s demotion is probably a good thing. He writes that Thompson is being groomed to be a top-six forward, not a bottom-six forward, so his development is critical and more time in San Antonio makes more sense. The 19-year-old center, who was playing hockey for the University of Connecticut a year ago, has only 26 games of AHL experience (playoffs included). Despite being a big player, Rutherford writes he got pushed around quite a bit, which often happens to young, inexperienced players.
- The scribe also writes that he believes that this could very likely be Stastny’s last year in St. Louis, unless the 31-year-old center is willing to take a pay cut to remain with the team. Stastny, who is in the final year of a four-year, $28MM deal, is currently making $7MM this season. Rutherford believes that while the team will likely keep their options open, the Blues will likely look at the free agent market first before deciding whether to re-sign Stastny. Stastny’s numbers have progressively been dropping over the last few years, with last year’s 40-point season being one of the lowest of his career. He is faring well so far with two goals and four assists in five games.
Minor Transactions: 10/13/17
Today’s minor news and notes from around the league:
- The Florida Panthers have loaned forward Denis Malgin to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, per a team release. Malgin, 20, was not expected to play much of a role for the Panthers in 2016-17, but ended up skating in 47 games and recording 10 points. This year, however, Malgin has yet to play to suit up for any of Florida’s first three games. With 2017 first-round pick Owen Tippett in the same boat, the Panthers needed to free up some opportunity and sending Malgin back to Springfield is no surprise. The Swiss forward was nearly a point-per-game player in the minors last season and can continue honing his skills while waiting for another opportunity to arise in Florida.
- Luc Snuggerud remains sidelined after a preseason upper-body injury, but now he’ll be sitting on the sidelines in Rockford rather than Chicago. The Blackhawks announced today that the young, offensive defenseman has been reassigned to the AHL Ice Hogs. Snuggerud is no good to the ’Hawks injured, but even if he is ready to go by the end of his original three-week prognosis, Chicago has no space in the lineup for him to play next week or any time in the near future. The Nebraska-Omaha product is in his first full pro season, but if he can produce at a similar rate in the AHL as he did in the NCAA, then Chicago will have him back up sooner rather than later.
- After clearing waivers today, Calgary Flames beat reporter Wes Gilbertson says that Marek Hrivik is on his way to the AHL. The free agent addition will join the Stockton Heat, a squad already full of talented young forwards such as Hunter Shinkaruk, Mark Jankowksi, and Spencer Foo. Hrivek will not only have to find his place on the new club, but also show that he is more worthy of the next Calgary call-up than some of his younger, more exciting new teammates.
- With the Minnesota Wild facing some major injury questions up front. Marcus Foligno suffered a serious blow to the face in a fight with Chicago’s John Hayden last night, while Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund are day-to-day with lingering issues and the conditions of Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter are also drawing some interest. There’s no easy solution is all five of those forwards are beyond playing condition, but for now the team has announced the call-up of rookie Luke Kunin from the AHL. Defenseman Mike Reilly was demoted to AHL Iowa to make room. Kunin, Minnesota’s 2016 first-round pick, decided to leave the University of Wisconsin after just two years to pursue his pro career and will almost certainly be rewarded with his NHL debut tomorrow. An intelligent, well-rounded center, it should come as no surprise if Kunin impresses in his role as an injury replacement and manages to keep a spot on the team going forward.
- Another Central Division team has swapped a pair of players, as the St. Louis Blues announced that forward Tage Thompson has been reassigned to the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, with fellow forward Sammy Blais getting the call-up. The two players are about as different as can be. Thompson is a 6’5″ center from Phoenix, Arizona who was drafted by the Blues in the first round in 2016 and played the past two seasons at the University of Connecticut before jumping right into the NHL this year. Blais is a 5’10” winger from Quebec who was drafted in the sixth round in 2014 and put up outstanding numbers in the QMJHL before playing a full AHL season last year. Yet, it’s Blais getting the call after an impressive preseason and a largely invisible first four games for Thompson. As the season goes on, watch for these two to be switched in and out depending on the personnel and style needs of St. Louis.
St. Louis Announces Affiliate, Colorado Awarded AHL Franchise
Though it had been reported much earlier this summer, the San Antonio Rampage finally officially announced their new five-year partnership with the St. Louis Blues. The Blues are operating this season without a primary AHL affiliate, after the Chicago Wolves signed a new deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Colorado Avalanche, who are currently affiliated with the Rampage, will be partnered next season with the Colorado Eagles, the AHL’s 31st franchise.
For St. Louis, this season has already been a tough one to operate through as they split their prospects between several teams around the league. Jordan Binnington, for example, was originally assigned to the Chicago Wolves before a logjam of Vegas goaltenders forced them to find a him a new home. Binnington is now playing in Providence with the Bruins’ affiliate. They do have many players already in San Antonio, getting used to the city and facility. The team will gain control of hockey operations and the coaching staff next year, giving them an increased ability to develop their prospects.
San Antonio was one of the AHL’s worst teams last year, registering just a 27-42-7 record and missing the playoffs for the second straight season. In fact, the team has won just a single playoff series in their entire existence, something the Blues organization will look to change from day one. Already their prospects have made their presence felt, with Samuel Blais and Jordan Schmaltz scoring to lead them to a win in their opener. Schmaltz, a first-round pick of the Blues scored the winner and is expected to be a leader on the team’s blueline this season.
For Colorado, this is not a loss. While they’ve had a fine relationship with San Antonio since 2015 (the team previously had affiliations with Florida and Arizona), getting the Eagles franchise is a solid step forward. Their primary minor league affiliate will now be right next door—the Eagles currently play in Loveland, CO—giving them even better coaching, development and scouting opportunities. The Eagles were previously an ECHL franchise, who won the Kelly Cup as league champions last season.