St. Louis Blues Assign Dmitrij Jaskin to AHL Chicago Wolves
The St. Louis Blues made a roster move on Wednesday that few would have predicted before the season, sending 22-year-old forward Dmitrij Jaskin to the AHL Chicago Wolves. After looking to be a rapidly-ascending scoring threat in 2014-15–the first season during which he spent a majority of his time in the NHL–Jaskin has fallen off significantly during 2015-16. Through 54 games last season, Jaskin scored 13 goals and added five assists.
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This season, though, the 6-foot-2, 217-pounder has just three goals and seven assists in 49 games. As he heads back to Chicago for the first time since December of 2014, he’ll try to get back in a rhythm and hopefully get back the confidence that made him a legitimate threat as a rookie.
Jaskin was limited almost exclusively to fourth-line duty for the past several months, as unexpected contributors like Scottie Upshall, Magnus Paajarvi, and even Ty Rattie established themselves as more desirable top-nine options. While Jaskin does combine enough skill and physicality to make himself an effective fourth-line option, the Blues just don’t get the same burst with him in the lineup as they do with the ultra-aggressive Ryan Reaves.
Since the Blues have now stuck with the same lineup for three straight games (and would be wise to do so as long as they keep winning), it was potentially going to be a while before Jaskin got back in the lineup again. Even if Ken Hitchcock had decided to shake things up in the near future, he likely would have opted first for Magnus Paajarvi, who dressed in 35 of the first 36 games in which he was healthy and on the NHL roster this season before being banished to the press box upon Jaden Schwartz‘s return.
By demoting Jaskin to the AHL, the Blues can prevent a portion of his $775,000 salary from counting towards the cap. That’s important for a team that already began the year up against the cap, then was forced to recall a multitude of injury replacements throughout the year. The cap situation could become more complicated if Steve Ott makes a late-season return, as is still projected to be the case, since the team would no longer be receiving long-term injured reserve savings on Ott’s $2.6 million-dollar salary.
Next: Breaking Down the Blues' Injuries Through 2015-16
Jaskin’s demotion leaves the Blues with 22 players on the active roster–one below the maximum–as well as Ott, Alex Pietrangelo, and Jake Allen on injured reserve.