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St. Louis Blues Recall Chris Butler from AHL Chicago Wolves

By Patrick Karraker

Jan 14, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Chris Butler (25) clears the puck in the game against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 14, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Chris Butler (25) clears the puck in the game against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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With Robert Bortuzzo still on the shelf, the St. Louis Blues returned to a full complement of healthy defensemen by recalling Chris Butler.

The St. Louis Blues announced on Thursday morning that they’ve recalled defenseman Chris Butler from the AHL Chicago Wolves. There’s not a totally obvious reason for Butler’s recall at the moment, but with defenseman Robert Bortuzzo still recovering from a lower-body injury and the team heading out for a two-game road trip to Nashville and Columbus, his addition gives them a full stable of defensemen.

The Blues recalled Petteri Lindbohm on Monday to serve as one of their top six defensemen while Bortuzzo and Joel Edmundson are on the shelf. Lindbohm played just 9:49 in Wednesday night’s loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, but seemed to perform well. It was a good game overall for the Blues’ defensive corps, which snapped a streak of 11 straight games in which the Blackhawks had scored three or more goals per game.

Presuming that there were no injuries to any Blues defensemen, Butler will serve as the club’s extra defenseman and probably won’t suit up for a game. That’s a role that the 30-year-old has quite a bit of experience with, having done it extensively for the Blues during the 2014-15 season.

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Over the past two seasons, Butler–a native of St. Louis–has suited up in 38 games for the Blues, scoring three goals while adding six assists with a plus-7 rating. Despite acquitting himself relatively well in each game that he’s played for the Blues, he’s fallen a few spots on the depth chart over the past couple seasons.

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Though the Blues have played just 14 games, they’ve now already had 10 defensemen spent time on the NHL roster. In addition to the group of seven that started the season with the NHL club, the Blues have recalled Butler, Lindbohm, and Brad Hunt (who has since been sent down) in the wake of Bortuzzo’s injury.

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