- Per a team announcement, St. Louis Blues winger Jordan Kyrou will be out of the lineup tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins with a non-COVID related illness. Of course, this isn’t good news per se, however the reasoning being illness over a serious injury is a silver lining, as St. Louis cannot afford to be without their star forward for very long. Taking his place in the lineup is forward William Bitten, who was recalled from the AHL earlier today. Also in the lineup is forward Brayden Schenn, who has been battling a lingering injury. Interestingly, while this will be game number one in the NHL for Bitten, it also marks game number 800 in the league for Schenn.
Blues Rumors
St. Louis Blues Recall William Bitten
The St. Louis Blues announced this afternoon that they’ve recalled forward William Bitten from the Springfield Thunderbirds, their AHL affiliate. No corresponding moves were announced, though Jake Neighbours’ assignment to the AHL yesterday did open a spot on the roster. Bitten’s recall brings the Blues to a complete 23-man roster.
The 24-year-old Bitten has had a solid season thus far, tied for the team lead with eight goals for Springfield through 20 games after spending time in training camp with St. Louis earlier this year. This is not Bitten’s first season in the Blues organization, getting into 45 games with the Thunderbirds last year as well after a midseason trade. Should he play while recalled, it would mark his NHL debut.
A third-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2016, Bitten bounced around in his OHL career, spending time with the Plymouth Whalers, Flint Firebirds, and Hamilton Bulldogs. Just before he was set to make his professional debut, Montreal dealt him to the Minnesota Wild, where he spent parts of four seasons in the AHL before being dealt to St. Louis nearly a year ago.
St. Louis Blues Return Jake Neighbours To AHL
The St. Louis Blues have sent Jake Neighbours back to the AHL after his most recent call-up. The young forward played in two games, recording two shots, two blocks, and a hit while failing to record a point.
Neighbours, 20, like so many other prospects, needs to play. He wasn’t going to see much ice time with the big club, getting just 13 shifts in last night’s loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. At the AHL level, he can touch the puck a lot more and get his confidence up, something that must be waning after so many scoreless appearances as a pro. Neighbours has two goals and three points in 22 career NHL games and has yet to score an AHL goal in seven games.
There’s still plenty of optimism about the 2020 first-round pick, but it’s hard to see how playing fewer than ten minutes a night on an NHL fourth line is the right development path. He may be up again at some point but the focus should be on getting him rolling in the minor leagues.
The struggle of course is that the Blues aren’t winning, either, so head coach Craig Berube needs to do anything he can to turn the ship around. The club is 11-12 on the year and has lost their last two after a strong stretch. Balancing Neighbours’ long-term development with the short-term team needs is a difficult task, especially if they believe he is one of the 12 best forwards in the organization.
Alexey Toropchenko Assigned To AHL On Conditioning Stint
It’s been a rollercoaster few months for Alexey Toropchenko. The 23-year-old forward underwent offseason shoulder surgery and was supposed to miss the first chunk of the regular season, but managed to be cleared by game one. He entered the lineup right away and has played in 15 games but there has been little production from the big Russian winger. So far, Toropchenko has just one point in 15 games, and it came at the end of October.
With his struggles in mind, the team has sent Toropchenko to the AHL for a conditioning stint, where he can hopefully get his game back in shape. The team has gone with 11 forwards and seven defensemen recently instead of dressing the young forward, as he just can’t seem to find a consistent performance so far this year.
Notably, Toropchenko can’t be sent to the AHL for an extended period of time without first clearing waivers. That is part of the problem for St. Louis, who would likely prefer to give him a long run with Springfield as they try to fix the NHL roster in another way. If waived, there seems to be a good chance the 6’6″ winger would be claimed, if only because of his size and relative youth.
It may still come to that at some point, if he can’t turn things around and the team feels it needs that roster spot for a different player. While they have turned it around a bit, the Blues are still just treading water in the middle of the Central Division standings, now at 11-11 on the year.
St. Louis Blues Recall Jake Neighbours
The St. Louis Blues have brought up top prospect Jake Neighbours, assigning Nikita Alexandrov to the AHL in the meantime. The team will be without Robert Thomas for the next few days as he deals with a lower-body injury. Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic relays the lines from morning skate, which had Neighbours beside Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou on the third line.
Neighbours, 20, played 11 games for the Blues earlier this season, but had been returned to the minor leagues after failing to produce much offense. In seven games with the Springfield Thunderbirds, he failed to record a goal but did manage five assists. The experience of professional hockey has been tough for the young forward so far, who is used to dominating offensively at the WHL level. Neighbours had 17 goals and 45 points in 30 regular season games for the Edmonton Oil Kings last season.
Losing Thomas, regardless of who replaces him, is a huge blow for the Blues. The 23-year-old has four goals and 19 points through 21 games, following up his 77-point 2021-22 campaign. While he is only listed as day-to-day, any game played without him in the lineup is a difficult one. The Blues will have to try and find offense from somewhere else as they face the Dallas Stars this evening.
Brayden Schenn Leaves Game With Lower-Body Injury
The St. Louis Blues had what could be a season-altering win last night, beating the Florida Panthers in overtime after scoring three unanswered goals to tie the game into the third period. It wasn’t all good news for St. Louis, though, as they could be missing a strong veteran presence from their lineup. Forward Brayden Schenn left the game at the end of the second period with a lower-body injury, per the Bally Sports Midwest local broadcast. He did not return to the game.
Schenn had performed well in the Blues’ recent winning stretch, recording three goals and seven points in 10 games since their eight-game losing streak ended. His six goals in 21 games on the season are tied for second on the team alongside Pavel Buchnevich and Ryan O’Reilly. While he may not be the all-around player he used to be in his earlier seasons with the Blues, he remains an important scorer and a skilled shooter. His presence also allows the Blues to roll a strong three-line attack, slotting Schenn in behind O’Reilly and Robert Thomas at center. Postgame, head coach Craig Berube noted that Schenn’s injury would be further evaluated today.
Robert Bortuzzo Activated From Injured Reserve
The St. Louis Blues are getting a little more defensive depth back, activating Robert Bortuzzo from injured reserve. To make room on the roster, Tyler Tucker has been loaned back to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL.
Bortuzzo, 33, hasn’t played since November 8 and has no points in ten appearances this season. The veteran defenseman is averaging the fewest minutes of his career, so shouldn’t be expected to make a huge contribution. Still, with Marco Scandella and Scott Perunovich sidelined, the team’s organizational depth on defense was rather thin. Tucker is one of just five defensemen in the minor leagues that are even signed to NHL deals, most of whom have no experience at the highest level.
That was the case for Tucker, too, before he got into four games with the Blues this season. The 22-year-old is a seventh-round pick from 2018 that just continued to climb up the depth chart thanks to a physical brand of hockey that is beloved in St. Louis. In his short NHL stint, he managed to record eight hits, six blocked shots, and five penalty minutes, despite averaging just 13 minutes a night.
Colton Parayko Game-Time Decision Tonight
The St. Louis Blues are streaking – again. They’ve nearly wiped out a franchise-record eight-game losing streak by rattling off six straight wins, the latter half of which have come without defenseman Colton Parayko in the lineup. Considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Parayko will be a game-time decision tonight when the Blues take on the Anaheim Ducks.
Berube even went so far as to say he was “confident” that Parayko would be back in the lineup, but still, it’s not assured. He’ll be an important piece for the Blues this season as he enters the first season of his eight-year, $52MM contract extension. His defensive play this year has been better than his -9 rating would suggest, with his sample size being weighed down by poor goaltending during the Blues’ losing streak. Tyler Tucker will draw out in place of Parayko after playing his first three NHL games, and Vladimir Tarasenko will miss a second straight game with an undisclosed illness.
Snapshots: McDonagh, Samsonov, Tarasenko
If the season were to end today, the Nashville Predators would, for a second straight season, find themselves in the playoffs as the eighth seed out of the Western Conference. Last season, the team was rewarded for its efforts with a 4-0 sweep in the first round at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche. This season, should they make the playoffs, they’ll now have a new weapon: a veteran shutdown defenseman with Stanley Cup pedigree in that of defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who they acquired this offseason from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Though Nashville has had their struggles thus far, McDonagh has been the steady, reliable presence they’d hoped for, helping to keep them in the hunt early on.
However, as The Athletic’s Joe Smith details, there was a time when McDonagh was nearly on his way to the Columbus Blue Jackets this offseason. According to Smith’s discussions with McDonagh and agent Ben Hankinson, a deal to Columbus was rather close. But, on the morning of July 3rd, things began to change. As Smith writes, Lightning GM Julien BriseBois had set that day as a deadline to find a trade partner for McDonagh, who carried a no-movement clause on his contract. If they could not, Smith added, there was a chance McDonagh could have been placed on waivers. Instead, the story goes, Nashville and GM David Poile jumped into the mix that day and made the push to acquire McDonagh. Ultimately, it was the Predators who checked more boxes than any other interested team, McDonagh said.
- After Ilya Samsonov suffered a knee injury in a game against the Boston Bruins two weeks ago, many wondered how the Toronto Maple Leafs would resolve their issues in net, down both of their regular netminders. Toronto managed to bide their time, relying on Erik Kallgren, until Murray’s return this Tuesday, however they will need that pair to stay healthy for now, as Samsonov does not appear close to return. According to TSN’s Mark Masters, who spoke with Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, Samsonov did not skate Friday. As Keefe says, Samsonov is still healing and not yet at the point to push himself every day and make the push to return. Fortunately for Toronto, the comments don’t appear to point to any setback in Samsonov’s recovery, even if his return is not clear.
- NHL.com’s Chris Pinkert reports that St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko will not play tonight due to illness. It doesn’t appear that the illness is in any way COVID related. Skating in his place will be Alexey Toropchenko, who will play alongside Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas. The 23-year-old Toropchenko has just one goal in 11 games this season, but a chance to skate in the Blues’ top-six could reignite the winger.
Trade Speculation Swirling Around Ryan O'Reilly
The St. Louis Blues have lost eight in a row and suddenly, a player that was once considered a core piece is starting to be discussed in trade speculation. Ryan O’Reilly, the team’s captain, and (tied for) highest-paid player is a focus of two different pieces from The Athletic today.
Blues’ beat reporter Jeremy Rutherford penned a column about the smaller changes that Doug Armstrong was forced to make to the roster (recalling Josh Leivo and Nikita Alexandrov), while Pierre LeBrun touched on several potential trade candidates including O’Reilly, teammate Vladimir Tarasenko, and Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat. Both O’Reilly and Tarasenko are unrestricted free agents at the end of the season and if the Blues don’t turn things around quickly, could find themselves on the move by the March deadline.