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St. Louis Blues Recall Wade Megan from AHL Chicago Wolves

By Patrick Karraker

Apr 4, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) and teammates salute their fans after defeating the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) and teammates salute their fans after defeating the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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With Paul Stastny headed to injured reserve, the St. Louis Blues have recalled center Wade Megan from the AHL Chicago Wolves.

As the St. Louis Blues wrap up the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule on Thursday with a visit to the Tampa Bay Lightning, they’re faced with making a lineup change to replace center Paul Stastny, who suffered an upper-body injury in Tuesday’s overtime win over the Dallas Stars. The Blues placed Stastny on injured reserve Thursday and recalled center Wade Megan from the AHL Chicago Wolves to replace him on the roster.

Rather than inserting Nail Yakupov or Ty Rattie into the lineup and shifting Alexander Steen or Jaden Schwartz back to center, it’s likely that Megan will make his Blues debut on Thursday in Tampa. While he’s a similar player to fourth line center Kyle Brodziak, it’d probably make more sense for him to go into the top nine forward group, rather than Brodziak being shifted into the top nine, which would break up his highly successful line with Scottie Upshall and Ryan Reaves.

The 26-year-old Megan will be making his NHL debut if he plays in Tampa. After signing a two-way deal with the Blues this offseason, he seemed to be one of the least likely candidates for an in-season call-up during training camp, when he was assigned back to Chicago during the first round of cuts, a move that came before he had even played in a preseason game. But on a Wolves team that is currently without injured NHL vets Magnus Paajarvi and Landon Ferraro, Megan has seized the opportunity.

Megan has 13 goals with the Wolves, good for third in the AHL. His overall total of 24 points in 28 games ranks second among active Wolves players. He’s also been a dominant penalty killer, and it’s possible that he could fill in for Stastny on that unit tonight. The Wolves’ penalty kill is a perfect 17 for 17 over their past three games.

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Stastny’s injury was considered to be “day-to-day” after Tuesday’s game. With the Blues breaking until next Wednesday to celebrate the holidays, he’ll only be required to miss tonight’s game since his seven-day IR stint can be backdated. It’s unknown, though, whether his injury might be more serious than initially anticipated.

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