St. Louis Blues Recall Magnus Paajarvi from AHL Chicago Wolves
The St. Louis Blues took advantage of the unused spot on their 23-man roster in advance of Wednesday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, recalling forward Magnus Paajarvi from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. The 24-year-old Paajarvi, a veteran of 228 NHL games, had four goals and three assists through the Wolves’ first seven games this season. The return to the NHL, however brief it may end up being, is a major step forward for Paajarvi, who was waived and assigned to the AHL midway through last season after an uneventful 65 games over a season-and-a-half for the Blues. Since then, Paajarvi had been passed up for a recall on multiple occasions and was beaten out for a roster spot during this training camp by veterans Scottie Upshall and Scott Gomez.
Paajarvi could very well end up being the most well-rested player on the Blues’ roster tonight; the Blues’ plane from St. Louis to Chicago was diverted to Milwaukee Tuesday morning because of fog in the Windy City, so the team didn’t arrive in Chicago until about 4:00 AM. Meanwhile, Paajarvi was with the Wolves in Chicago and will be able to make a quick and easy trip to the United Center for tonight’s game.
Though there’s no obvious reason for Paajarvi’s recall, it’s possible that he could be in the lineup tonight. The Blues have a multitude of forwards who aren’t exactly lighting it up right now, and that was evidenced by their ice time in Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. Rookie Robby Fabbri played a team-low 7:22, while Ryan Reaves played 8:26, Dmitrij Jaskin played 9:34, and Ty Rattie played 10:11. With those players having combined for just five points in a combined 33 games, it’s possible that a couple of them could be candidates to become healthy scratches tonight. Gomez is also expected to re-enter the lineup after sitting out for Tuesday’s game.
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While it’s possible that the Blues could just be recalling Paajarvi for a brief period, the move could be a bad sign for veterans Dainius Zubrus and Martin Havlat, who are currently practicing with the team on a professional tryout basis. The two former New Jersey Devils were viewed as possible candidates to become depth forwards on the NHL roster if guys like Paajarvi and Ivan Barbashev weren’t viable-enough NHL players to fill a role, but the return of Paajarvi to the Blues could be an option that the front office is warming back up to him. We should discover the outcome rather soon, as GM Doug Armstrong said last week that he wanted to make decisions on Zubrus and Havlat’s futures by Friday.
Next: Blues in Search of Offense Against Rival Blackhawks
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