St. Louis Blues Recall Defenseman Petteri Lindbohm from AHL Chicago Wolves

WithJay Bouwmeesterfighting a minor injury, the St. Louis Blues have recalledPetteri Lindbohmfrom the AHL Chicago Wolves.

With defenseman Jay Bouwmeester fighting an upper-body injury that caused him to miss Friday’s practice, the St. Louis Blues added some defensive depth to their roster late Friday afternoon, recalling Petteri Lindbohm from the AHL Chicago Wolves.

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Lindbohm was expected to be among the Blues’ regular top six defensemen this season, but after being beaten out for a roster spot in training camp byColton ParaykoandJoel Edmundson, he was sent back to Chicago to start the season. Due to the continued strong performance of Parayko and Edmundson and the relative health that the Blues’ defensive corps have experienced this season, Lindbohm has been limited to just seven games with the NHL club in 2015-16, coming up in mid-December while Edmundson went back down to Chicago for a brief tune-up. Lindbohm had a minus-4 rating and five penalty minutes over his brief stint with St. Louis. Over 43 games this season in Chicago, Lindbohm has three goals, eight assists, a minus-4 rating, and 50 penalty minutes.

Lindbohm recently got back in the Wolves’ lineup following a prolonged absence caused by a lower-body injury. Lindbohm’s return to the lineup on March 18 marked his first appearance since February 9 and capped a stint of 16 straight games that he missed due to injury. Lindbohm has a minus-5 rating in three games since his return, but the Blues will hope that he still has some semblance of the strong form that allowed him to succeed in the NHL last year.

It’s highly possible that Lindbohm’s $636,667 cap hit was a factor in him getting the call rather than a veteran such asChris Butler, who has also spent time with the NHL club this year. The Blues are fighting to keep their cap situation under control over the last eight games of the season, asSteve Ott‘s return could diminish the long-term injury reserve savings that are just narrowly keeping them under the cap right now. By recalling Lindbohm rather than the slightly more highly-paid Butler, the Blues can save just a little bit more towards the cap.

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It’s possible that Lindbohm could get in the lineup Friday against Vancouver, though it’s probably more realistic to expectRobert Bortuzzoto return to the ice for his 35th game of 2015-16. With Bouwmeester out, the Blues’ defensive pairings could consist of Joel Edmundson andAlex Pietrangelo, who have been together for the past two games, along with a reunited Colton Parayko andKevin Shattenkirkpairing and a third group ofCarl Gunnarssonand Robert Bortuzzo.

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