St. Louis Blues Return Petteri Lindbohm to AHL Chicago Wolves
The St. Louis Blues announced following Friday afternoon’s practice that they have reassigned forward Petteri Lindbohm to the AHL Chicago Wolves. With the NHL’s holiday freeze on transactions, which is designed to allow for minimal stress and maximum family time for NHL personnel executives during the holidays, beginning on Friday at midnight and continuing through December 27, the Blues wanted to have a flexible roster spot in case defenseman Carl Gunnarsson was able to return from injured reserve before the end of the freeze. Gunnarsson has not played since December 6, when he left with concussion symptoms.
Lindbohm, who registered his first NHL point with an assist in Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Kings, has played in eight NHL games this year. Seven of those eight have come over the Blues’ past seven games, as he had begun to see more action than veterans Chris Butler and Ian Cole. It’s likely that Lindbohm will be back and playing with the Blues at some point this season, perhaps as early as the end of the holiday freeze if Gunnarsson’s condition doesn’t improve.
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That’s more likely considering that Gunnarsson, who had resumed skating earlier this week, was sent home from Friday’s practice with recurring concussion symptoms. If there’s space for Lindbohm in the lineup following the freeze, the Blues will likely recall him, as they seem to enjoy having his physical and defensive-minded presence in the lineup. He’s been yo-yoed between Chicago and St. Louis this year, but that’s the nature of the beast considering that Lindbohm, who is in his first season in America and can take advantage of regular playing time, while the team’s regular top seven defensemen are on one-way contracts and would need to clear waivers to go to the minors.