St. Louis Blues Facing Tough Roster Decisions as Preseason Wraps Up
As the St. Louis Blues wrap up their preseason on Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, they’ll have 33 players left on their NHL roster. Five of those players are NHL veterans who have been put through the waiver process and are likely destined to be sent to the AHL Chicago Wolves, while forward Ivan Barbashev and goalie Pheonix Copley are locks to be reassigned to the minors. Other than that, though, there’s still 26 players fighting for 23 spots, and it will be extremely interesting to see how the competition ends up playing out.
“If everything goes according to plan on Thursday for those players, the Blues’ opening night roster may look exceptionally different than we thought it would be coming into training camp.”
The core forward group seems to be locked in: it will be a top line of Vladimir Tarasenko, Paul Stastny, and Alexander Steen, with a mishmashed group rounding out the top nine that will include some combination of Jaden Schwartz, Jori Lehtera, Dmitrij Jaskin, Robby Fabbri, David Backes, and Troy Brouwer. The fourth line is likely to include Steve Ott, Kyle Brodziak, and Ryan Reaves, though preseason usage patterns indicate that Ott may not be an every-game player on that line like he was in 2014-15.
The intrigue comes with the selection of the Blues’ 13th and 14th forwards, as no one has stepped forward to definitively claim a role. Magnus Paajarvi looked to have better odds than anyone else to claim one of those roles coming into camp, but he was placed on waivers on Wednesday and now appears destined for AHL Chicago if he makes it through the waiver process. That means that professional tryout players Scott Gomez and Scottie Upshall, veteran Jordan Caron, and much-hyped prospect Ty Rattie are likely competing for two open spots.
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Gomez, a 35-year-old former Stanley Cup champion who has played 15 seasons in the league, appears to be in good position to claim a job. Though he came into camp as a tryout player (meaning his contract is not guaranteed for the regular season), coach Ken Hitchcock expressed a preference for him to make the roster even before camp started, and along with fellow new addition Troy Brouwer, he’d be an ideal locker room presence for a team that has not employed a former Cup winner in quite a while. Gomez has played in three games this preseason, delivering one assist while collecting a team-worst minus-2 rating. Defensive struggles aside, however, Gomez appears to be a good fit because of his experience and ability to step into a top-nine role when asked without incident.
Upshall, on the other hand, has put together more of a standout preseason performance and is making a decision that otherwise might have been easier a difficult one for the Blues’ front office. The 31-year-old, who is a veteran of 553 NHL games, has played in three preseason games. During that action, he has a goal with a plus-1 rating. Upshall is less skilled than Gomez and actually plays more like a slightly more productive version of Ott, but he would be a fine backup for the fourth-line grinders.
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Two players who are already under contract and could push Gomez and Upshall for roles are Rattie and Caron. The 22-year-old Rattie has been making an attempt to stick with the NHL team for the past two years, first coming up for a two-game audition in 2013-14 and then getting more extended action with the club in 2014-15, playing in 11 games and registering two assists. Rattie still has yet to convert the exceptional point production that he’s delivered in the AHL (31 goals and 17 assists over 72 games in 2013-14, 21 goals and 21 assists in 59 games during 2014-15) to the NHL and has not scored a goal at hockey’s highest level. He’s shown some more flashes during camp this year, delivering three assists in three games, but since he’s just 22 years old and clearly has yet to reach his ceiling, it’s unlikely that the Blues would want to keep him around as a frequent healthy scratch. Rattie is getting another good shot to show his worth, as he’ll be in the lineup for Thursday’s preseason finale, but as of now, it still seems probable that he’ll return to the minors for a third season.
The 24-year-old Caron, a former first-rounder who played 30 NHL games last season between the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche and has played 153 NHL games in total, has looked very good in the lead-up to the regular season, particularly during practice. Caron has played in two preseason games and has a plus-1 rating with one shot on goal. The fact that he’s not playing in the Blues’ preseason finale on Thursday and spent Wednesday on a practice line with Barbashev and the already-waived Paajarvi and Jeremy Welsh probably doesn’t bode well for his chances.
As complicated as the situation with the Blues’ extra forwards is, things are much more controversial on the blueline. Arguably the team’s best two defensemen this preseason have been Colton Parayko and Joel Edmundson, two massive young players who have yet to see their first NHL action. The 22-year-old Parayko has played in four preseason games, registering four assists while averaging 20:17 of ice time per night and playing for a plus-4 rating. He’s possibly the club’s most physical defenseman and has the potential to be a major contributor in the vain of longtime NHLer Zdeno Chara, but he has played just 22 professional games, all for the Wolves, since ending his collegiate career at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. He’s making a spectacular case for a roster spot right now, but it would be feasible for the Blues to justify sending him back to the AHL considering his inexperience as a pro.
The 22-year-old Edmundson has been playing professionally with the Wolves for the past two seasons and hasn’t delivered off-the-charts statistics, but he’s been held back by injuries for much of that time and is just now starting to play comfortably thanks to his complete health. He’s been a major breakout player, scoring two goals with an assist and a plus-2 rating through four games while averaging 20:59 of ice time. Edmundson isn’t quite as physical as Parayko, but his superior size and strong offensive ability could make him a great candidate to earn a roster spot right off the bat.
“As complicated as the situation with the Blues’ extra forwards is, things are much more controversial on the blueline.”
The difficult part of this situation is figuring out how to fit Parayko and Edmundson on the team. The Blues already began the process of pulling the plug on their initial plans Wednesday afternoon, placing veteran Chris Butler, who was projected to be their seventh NHL defenseman, on waivers. That clears a spot for one of the young rookies to make the team, though it’s unclear who will assume a position in the press box with the youngsters presumably having had to crack the top six in order to earn a spot.
Butler’s ouster only frees up one spot, so it will be interesting to see how another spot is created if the Blues feel ready to give spots to both Parayko and Edmundson. Petteri Lindbohm, who is also just 22 and was a flashy rookie himself last season, could be made a scapegoat. He’s been at least solid during the preseason, though, delivering a goal and a plus-2 rating while averaging 18:33 a night. Considering his previous NHL experience and positive track record, it’s difficult to see Lindbohm losing his spot just because Parayko and Edmundson are the men of the minute.
A more vulnerable player could be 28-year-old Carl Gunnarsson, who has disappointed since being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to last season. Gunnarsson was limited to 61 games due to a hip injury and concussion issues during 2014-15, and despite being advertised as an offense-first defenseman, he delivered just two goals and 10 assists. Gunnarsson has played in two preseason games this year, but he’s once again sidelined with a groin injury, which may be enough to earn one of the rookies a spot just because of the fact that he could open the year on injured reserve.
Beyond that, though, Gunnarsson might be a trade candidate if the Blues find a team that’s willing to take on most or all of his $3.2 million-dollar salary. That would give them some cap flexibility while creating permanent roster spots for Parayko and Edmundson (though Butler plus veterans Andre Benoit and Peter Harrold exist as fallback options if one of the rookies falters). Cap flexibility will be a key for the Blues, who have just over $1 million in free space remaining, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Tom Timmerman. If Gunnarsson was moved, it could make it more realistic for the team to keep both Gomez and Upshall. Especially with Paajarvi and Butler’s one-way salaries still counting against the NHL cap, the money that Gomez and Upshall will command as veterans could be something that plays in Rattie’s favor.
While most of the decisions are likely already made, at least in pencil, Thursday’s preseason game should be an interesting event, as Gomez, Upshall, Rattie, Parayko, and Edmundson will be in a lineup that coach Ken Hitchcock originally said would be close to the team’s opening night look. If everything goes according to plan on Thursday for those players, the Blues’ opening night roster may look exceptionally different than we thought it would be coming into training camp.