Calle Rosen Sent To AHL
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.
Blues Assign Charlie Lindgren To AHL
While the season has come to an end for the Blues, at least one player will play on for a little while longer as goaltender Charlie Lindgren has been sent back to Springfield of the AHL, per the AHL’s transactions log. He had been serving as the backup to Ville Husso after Jordan Binnington was injured earlier in their second-round series against Colorado.
The 28-year-old had his best professional campaign this season, posting a 2.21 GAA and a .925 SV% in 34 games with the Thunderbirds, both career bests. On top of that, he also impressed in his limited NHL action, putting up a stellar 1.22 GAA with a .958 SV% in five appearances with St. Louis, numbers that had some wondering if the Blues might have considered giving Lindgren a chance against Colorado over sticking with Husso. But with just 29 career NHL games under his belt, sticking with Husso certainly made sense.
Lindgren will now have a chance to reclaim the starting job with the Thunderbirds as they look to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals against his former team in Laval, the affiliate of the Canadiens. With a good finish to his AHL playoffs plus his performance during the regular season, Lindgren should have a strong market this summer in unrestricted free agency as a veteran third-string goaltender that can be called on to make a few NHL starts when injuries arise.
NHL Announces Conference Final Schedule Scenarios
After one-half of the conference finalists have been set, the NHL has released the potential schedule matrix for the 2022 Eastern and Western Conference Finals.
No matter what, the Eastern Conference Final will start June 1, whether it be in Raleigh or Manhattan. The Tampa Bay Lightning will be the visitor after sweeping the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Florida Panthers in the Second Round. The Lightning actually finished with the same point total as the New York Rangers (110), but surrender the tiebreaker, so it’s impossible for them to start the series at home. They would also start on the road against the Metropolitan Division champion Carolina Hurricanes. The Eastern Conference Final will be televised on ESPN in the United States.
For the Western Conference, the schedule depends on the result of tonight’s Game 6 between the Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues. If Colorado is victorious tonight, the series will start on May 31st in Denver. If it goes to a Game 7, the Edmonton Oilers will travel to either Denver or St. Louis for Game 1 on June 2. In the United States, the Western Conference Final will be on TNT.
The last possible day for Conference Final action is June 15, with a potential Western Conference Final Game 7 between the Oilers and either the Avalanche or Blues.
Torey Krug Still Not An Option For St. Louis
The St. Louis Blues have staved off elimination for at least another few days, coming back to beat the Colorado Avalanche in overtime last night on a slapshot from Tyler Bozak. One of the more amazing statistics from that game is how heavily the Blues have leaned on just three defensemen, using Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko, and Nick Leddy in all situations. Marco Scandella and Robert Bortuzzo, two of the team’s more veteran options, played just 12:22 and 11:09 last night, while Niko Mikkola saw just over 16 minutes.
Part of that discrepancy between the top and bottom of the defense corps is because of Torey Krug‘s absence, a player that would normally slide in with that top group and take on huge minutes. Krug hasn’t played since game three of the first round though, leaving the match against the Minnesota Wild with a lower-body injury after just six shifts.
Despite being back on the ice again today, Krug won’t be an option for the Blues tomorrow or in a potential game seven, according to Lou Korac of NHL.com. There is a chance he could return next series, though thinking that far ahead certainly isn’t really productive for St. Louis at this point. The team has a lot of work to do if they want to come back and take the series from Colorado, meaning Faulk, Parayko, and Leddy will need to carry the load a little longer.
There will be an eye on who actually enters the lineup behind them though. The team had been using seven defensemen and dressing both Calle Rosen and Scott Perunovich earlier in the series, the latter mostly for powerplay duty. With another do-or-die situation tomorrow night, head coach Craig Berube will have to decide which mix to use for the handful of minutes those depth spots are receiving.
David Perron Fined For Cross-Checking
The St. Louis Blues are down to their last strike, on the brink of elimination after last night’s loss to the Colorado Avalanche, but at least they won’t be without one of their top players. David Perron has avoided suspension and earned a $5,000 fine for his cross-check on Nazem Kadri, one of a number of questionable incidents involving the Blues’ sniper in game four.
The incident in question occurred partway through the second period and resulted in a two-minute minor from the on-ice officials. At the same time, Pavel Buchnevich took a penalty for roughing on Kadri, after Perron and the Avalanche forward came together in the neutral zone. It wasn’t the only time Perron received a cross-checking penalty in the game–he was given a two-minute minor in the first period after delivering one to Cale Makar–and also likely wasn’t the only clip the Department of Player Safety reviewed from last night’s match.
Still, Perron was also the Blues’ best offensive player last night, scoring twice to take his playoff totals to nine goals and 13 points in ten games. Losing that kind of production would have been a devastating blow as the team tries to claw out of the 3-1 series deficit. A fine means the league will be closely watching his conduct for any further supplementary discipline but means he can stay in the lineup and try to help the Blues stay alive tomorrow night.
St. Louis Blues Recall Charlie Lindgren
With starter Jordan Binnington out for the foreseeable future, the St. Louis Blues have made a move to solidify their backup goalie position behind new starter Ville Husso. The Blues announced today that Charlie Lindgren has been recalled from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds on an emergency basis. The Thunderbirds are still in the mix in the Calder Cup playoffs, and will likely have to turn to goal-scoring goalie Joel Hofer in Lindgren’s absence.
While St. Louis would undoubtedly prefer to have Binnington healthy, there are few teams that can boast the goaltending depth that the Blues’ organization has. Lindgren, 28, has had a brilliant season so far. His work in the AHL, a 24-7-1 record and a .925 save percentage, has been superb. His brief time in the NHL has also gone extremely well, and he has a .958 save percentage and a 1.22 goals-against-average in five games played.
Lindgren is expected to back up Husso, who is set to take the starters’ crease that he occupied for much of the regular season. While this scenario is admittedly unlikely, should Husso struggle as he did early in the playoffs, it’s definitely possible that Lindgren could see game action. Should that happen, Lindgren will have a massive opportunity to showcase the talent he’s flashed this season on one of hockey’s biggest stages.
Jordan Binnington Suffers Knee Injury
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.
Steven Santini Assigned To AHL
With the Springfield Thunderbirds about to start their next Calder Cup playoff series on Sunday, Steven Santini has been assigned back to the AHL.
The St. Louis Blues defenseman played just three minutes in his one NHL playoff appearance this season, game four against the Minnesota Wild. That was just five shifts as the team tried to get through some injuries on defense and ended up dressing an extra body.
Now, Santini can go back to Springfield where he spent most of the season, and help them try to get past the Charlotte Checkers, a team the Thunderbirds have been battling all season long. The two clubs finished with the exact same winning percentage in the Atlantic Division, but Springfield lost the tiebreaker, meaning home ice advantage goes to Charlotte. Because it’s a five-game series, that means things actually start off in Springfield on Sunday afternoon.
Santini, 27, had 24 points in 66 games for Springfield this season and is signed through next year on a two-way contract with the Blues.
St. Louis Blues Sign Vadim Zherenko
The St. Louis Blues have added an interesting goaltending prospect, signing Vadim Zherenko to a three-year entry-level contract. Zherenko spent this season playing in Finland, mostly for Ilves Tampere at the highest level.
Selected 208th overall in 2019, just a few spots from the end of the draft, the 6’3″ netminder has continued to develop his game overseas while the Blues kept a close watch. Before heading to Finland, he had been coming up in Russia and had huge success at both the VHL and MHL levels, even winning a championship in the MHL. In fact, he earned the playoff MVP for that run in 2021, going 10-1-2 with a .939 save percentage in 13 appearances.
While he didn’t have quite the same impact in Finland, Zherenko did post a .902 in 30 Liiga appearances. Given that he is still signed with Ilves for 2022-23, it seems likely that he’ll be loaned back overseas before next season begins, where he can continue to see ample playing time as his game grows.
If he does, it would still use up the first year of his three-year deal as the 21-year-old is not young enough to see the contract slide forward any longer.
St. Louis Blues Recall Steven Santini
- The St. Louis Blues announced that they have recalled defenseman Steven Santini from the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL. After spending the entire year with Springfield, putting up 18 points in 66 games, Santini has shuffled back and forth between Springfield and St. Louis in the month of May, even getting his first NHL action of the 2021-22 season against the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs. It’s unclear if there is a specific motive behind the Blues’ decision to recall Santini, however it does raise eyebrows given the team’s rash of injuries to their defensemen late this season and into the first round, which necessitated Santini’s playoff appearance in the first place.