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Blues Place Justin Faulk On Injured Reserve, Recall Jakub Vrana

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The St. Louis Blues have placed top defenseman Justin Faulk on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Faulk suffered the injury late in the last minute of the team’s December 29th matchup against the Colorado Avalanche. He has already missed one game with the injury and is now slated to be out for at least a week. St. Louis has also swapped depth forwards, recalling Jakub Vrana and sending Nikita Alexandrov to the minor leagues.

Faulk has once again served as St. Louis’ top defenseman this season, averaging nearly 22-and-a-half minutes each game. He’s tallied 17 points through 35 games in the role, on pace for 40 points in 82 games. That’s a step down from the marks Faulk has been able to reach in St. Louis, with the defenseman setting a career-high 50 points in 82 games last season. It was the first time that any Blues defender has hit the half-century mark since Alex Pietrangelo did it in 2019-20 – and Faulk becomes the first defenseman not named Pietrangelo to reach the feat since the legendary Chris Pronger in 2003-04.

With Faulk moved to IR, the Blues opt to reinforce their offense rather than their defense – a move that makes sense considering the team recalled Matthew Kessel midway through last week. The reinforcements come in the way of Jakub Vrana, who the Blues acquired via trade last season, sending Dylan McLaughlin and a seventh round pick to the Detroit Red Wings. The hope was that Vrana could rebound to the 50-point form he showed off in the 2019-20 season. And while his time in St. Louis has been marred by struggles and waiver placements, the 27-year-old winger has totaled 20 points in 39 games since joining the Blues organization. He will hope to find his groove under new head coach Drew Bannister, who Vrana has yet to play for: getting sent down prior to Craig Berube’s dismissal from the team.

St. Louis Blues Recall Nathan Walker

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The St. Louis Blues have announced that forward Nathan Walker has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Walker fills the open spot on the Blues’ roster that was created by yesterday’s reassignment of Mackenzie MacEachern. MacEachern had been on the Blues’ NHL roster since early December and played in a total of eight games for the Blues. They went 5-3 in that span, but after consecutive losses it appears St. Louis has opted to make a change.

Replacing MacEachern is Walker, a veteran of 111 NHL games who has not yet dressed for the Blues in 2023-24. Walker stands just five-foot-nine compared to MacEachern’s six-foot-two, though he offers more recent NHL experience. Walker played 56 NHL games for the Blues last season, while MacEachern’s last extended NHL run came in 2019-20.

Walker won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals, and has been excellent in the AHL this season. He has 13 goals and 29 points for the Thunderbirds, and he leads the team in points scoring. The reward for his success in Springfield is this call-up, and he’ll likely skate on the Blues’ fourth line alongside Sammy Blais and Oskar Sundqvist.

St. Louis Blues Reassign Mackenzie MacEachern

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In the organization’s day off leading into the New Year, the St. Louis Blues have sent down a veteran forward to keep pace with their salary cap management. In an announcement from the team this afternoon, the Blues have sent down Mackenzie MacEachern to their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

The demotion will not be foreign territory for MacEachern, as he has regularly been used as an extra forward throughout his time in the NHL, both in his first stint with St.Louis as well as a one-year stop with the Carolina Hurricanes last season. Drafted 67th overall back in the 2012 NHL Draft by the Blues, MacEachern is a veteran of 123 NHL games dating back to the 2018-19 season, scoring 11 goals and 20 points overall.

With about twice the amount of games played in the AHL as compared to his time in the NHL, MacEachern has been much more productive, scoring 47 goals and 104 points in 240 games. Although he only played in the Calder Cup playoffs twice throughout his career in the AHL, MacEachern has been relatively more productive when viewing his scoring ratio, putting up eight goals and 16 points in 28 playoff games.

In only eight games with the Blues this season, MacEachern has tallied one assist overall, averaging just under eight minutes of ice time per night, not receiving any minutes on either unit of the team’s powerplay or penalty kill. When the Blues return to action on January 4th against the Vancouver Canucks, it is more than likely that MacEachern will be recalled to the NHL lineup, as St. Louis currently only has 12 forwards on the active roster.

Blues Recall Matt Kessel

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With Justin Faulk suffering a lower-body injury last night that will keep him out of the lineup tonight against Pittsburgh, the Blues have brought up a replacement.  The team announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Matt Kessel from AHL Springfield.

The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick by St. Louis back in 2020, going 150th overall.  He has spent the full season so far with the Thunderbirds, picking up two goals and four assists in 29 games.  Kessel has a pair of NHL appearances under his belt, both coming last season where he was held off the scoresheet while averaging a little over 15 minutes in each contest.  He’s in the final season of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent this summer.

St. Louis had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made to get Kessel onto the roster.  The timeline of Faulk’s injury is not yet known but he remains on the active roster for the time being.  His absence will certainly hurt tonight as he’s their leading scorer among blueliners with 17 points in 35 games while his 22:25 ATOI is second to only Colton Parayko.

 

Blues Recall Mackenzie MacEachern

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  • One of those teams is the Blues, who recalled winger Mackenzie MacEachern from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds this morning. After spending last season with the Hurricanes, playing in eight playoff games en route to an Eastern Conference Final appearance, MacEachern returned to the team that drafted him on a two-year deal worth $1.55MM in free agency. A one-way contract structure suggested the Blues envisioned him having a spot on their roster out of the gate. However, he ended up as one of their final cuts before the regular season began and cleared waivers before being assigned to Springfield. He scored four goals and added eight assists for 12 points in 22 games there before the Blues recalled him earlier this month. MacEachern played in five games on his initial recall, recording one assist and averaging 9:04 per game. The Blues then papered him down to Springfield on Christmas Eve. MacEachern will likely be in the lineup tonight against the Stars.

St. Louis Blues Send Mackenzie MacEachern To AHL

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  • Mackenzie MacEachern has been sent back to the AHL after appearing in five games with the St. Louis Blues. They were MacEachern’s first NHL games of the season, with the 29-year-old winger scoring one assist. MacEachern has also managed 22 AHL games this year, netting 12 points and eight penalty minutes. MacEachern is in his second stint with the Blues, spending four years with the club earlier in his career before briefly joining the Carolina Hurricanes organization last year. MacEachern played in five postseason games as the Blues pursued their 2019 Stanley Cup win.

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Theo Lindstein Added To Sweden's World Junior Roster

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  • Team Sweden has also made a roster move for the upcoming World Juniors. They announced (Twitter link) that Blues defenseman Theo Lindstein has been added to their roster for the event, replacing Jakob Noren who was injured in pre-tournament action.  The 18-year-old was the 29th pick back in June and has spent the majority of this season in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan level, recording 11 points in 27 games so far.  Louis now has seven prospects at the tournament, tied for the most among NHL teams with Arizona and Buffalo.

Blues Assign Hugh McGing To AHL

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The Blues have assigned forward Hugh McGing to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, general manager Doug Armstrong said today. McGing will get extended playing time in the minors over the holidays while the NHL roster freeze is in effect until December 28.

St. Louis recalled McGing, 25, for his first stint on the NHL roster in 2023-24 earlier this month. He’s played in all five of the Blues’ games since his recall but has struggled mightily, posting no points and a -5 rating while averaging 8:23 per game. The Western Michigan grad attempted five shots, went one for seven in the faceoff circle, and posted a 42.9% Corsi share at even strength.

McGing is in his sixth season in the Blues organization. The Blues acquired his NHL rights by making him the 138th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft after the 5-foot-8, 176-pound forward notched nine goals, 21 assists, 30 points, 40 PIMs, and a -7 rating in 36 games in his sophomore season with the Broncos.

After two more seasons at Western Michigan with similar production and serving as captain in his senior season, McGing inked a two-year entry-level contract with the Blues in March 2020. He’s now on his third NHL contract, inking a pair of one-year extensions after his initial contract expired to remain in the organization.

McGing has played primarily in the minors for the Blues’ top-level affiliates since turning pro in 2020. However, he did earn his first set of NHL recalls last season and made his major-league debut on April 12, 2023, logging 9:37 in a 5-2 loss against the Stars. His AHL production is pacing for career highs this season with four goals, 11 assists and 15 points in 21 games, a 0.71 points-per-game pace. His previous career-high pace was 0.55, set with Springfield last season.

McGing does not need to clear waivers to return to Springfield as he’s played fewer than ten games and remained on the NHL roster for fewer than 30 days since clearing waivers in October when he was cut from the Blues’ training camp roster. The Chicago-born forward will be a restricted free agent next summer and is eligible for salary arbitration. With no corresponding transaction, the Blues have one open spot on the active roster.

Blues Add Brad Richards As Power Play Consultant

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  • The Blues have added long-time NHL center Brad Richards as a power play consultant, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relays in his latest 32 Thoughts column. Richards put up 377 points with the man advantage during his 15-year NHL career, putting him in a tie for 76th in NHL history in that department.  Louis enters play tonight with a power play success rate of just 8.4%, putting them 31st league-wide ahead of only Washington.

Blues Recall Mackenzie MacEachern

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The Blues recalled winger Mackenzie MacEachern from AHL Springfield on Wednesday, a team release states. To stay under the 23-player roster limit, the team assigned winger Jakub Vrána to Springfield after he cleared waivers earlier today.

MacEachern, 29, has 115 games of NHL experience, although none of them have come this season. All those regular-season NHL appearances have come in a Blues uniform after they selected him 67th overall in the 2012 draft. The Michigan State graduate made eight postseason appearances for the Hurricanes last season but spent the entirety of the regular season in the AHL with their former affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.

After one year away from the Blues organization, MacEachern returned on a two-year, one-way deal worth $1.55MM last summer. He did not make the team out of camp, however, and was waived in early October as one of their last cuts. He’s responded with four goals, eight assists, 12 points, and a -4 rating in 22 contests for Springfield, ranking seventh on the team in scoring. It’s a sizable step back from the pace he set with the Wolves last season, where he notched 30 points in 37 games.

MacEachern was a Black Ace during the Blues’ run to the 2019 Stanley Cup, appearing in 29 regular-season games that season (the first of his career) but not getting into any playoff action. Since joining the NHL ranks in 2018, MacEachern’s tallied 11 goals, eight assists, 19 points, and a +4 rating while averaging 8:44 per contest. Playing in an exclusively fourth-line role in the majors, MacEachern has historically been a neutral possession force, giving the Blues a bottom-of-the-lineup presence that they don’t have to worry about.

He certainly doesn’t have the scoring upside that Vrána boasts, but given the latter has struggled heavily defensively this season, it makes sense the Blues would opt for a more responsible checking option on the roster. MacEachern will battle with Nikita Alexandrov, Sammy Blais and Hugh McGing for ice time on the team’s fourth line.

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