St. Louis Blues: Kyle Brodziak To IR, Ivan Barbashev Gets His Shot

They say when one door closes, another one opens. Or perhaps it involves a window opening instead. Blues fans will be hoping that is true with the latest recall.

The St. Louis Blues seem like they would have no luck if they did not have bad luck. Kyle Brodziak has sustained a foot injury and is likely to miss the next five weeks.

The Blues have certainly had worse years when it came to injury but the timing of injuries has really hurt them in 2016-17. With the team struggling to find continuity and cohesion, losing a solid effort guy and locker room presence is not what the team needs right now.

However, when opportunity knocks, you answer the door. That has to be the mindset of Ivan Barbashev.

The guy quickly went from highly touted prospect to flat-out failure and back to someone you were excited about in the blink of an eye. That’s how quickly opinion can change on a young player, but Barbashev will now get a chance to show what he’s made of in the big league.

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After a very rocky start to his North American professional career, Barbashev has been lighting up the American Hockey League. He currently has 19 goals and 37 points.

His current point total is nine points higher than what he scored all of last season. Even more impressive when you consider he hit that total in 21 fewer games played this season.

What is more exciting, hoping that his talents translate into the NHL, is the fact he can score. You might like the assist totals to be a little higher, but almost every pivot man on the Blues looks pass only instead of pass first. It would be nice to have a center who is a dual threat.

The problem you get with Brodziak going out and Barbashev in is two-fold. Sadly, more issues might be created than solved.

On the one hand, Brodziak and the fourth line have been the Blues biggest asset all season long. Whether that is a good thing or not is up for debate, but you knew you would get fantastic effort and energy from those guys. Losing a piece of that line breaks up the most consistent line you have and one that has avoided most of the line tinkering all season.

On the other hand, you have the issue of where to place Barbashev. This has long been an issue under Ken Hitchcock. Even his supporters can’t argue that other than time on ice, it has never made sense for him to continually place offensively talented rookies with the grinder fourth liners.

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Let’s be clear and say we have no idea that Barbashev will even play immediately. The Blues could tinker and move the puzzle pieces and have the youngster as insurance. However, if five weeks is correct, you have to figure he will play some.

So, do you put him with the fourth line and hope it’s plug-and-play? Or, do you take a smarter, though riskier path and place him higher up the lineup?

I would go with the higher up the lineup. You try to capitalize on his current momentum and place him with guys more likely to get the best out of him as opposed to energy players that aren’t going to finish what he sets up.

Another issue with Barbashev’s recall is the timing of the injury. The Blues have to be careful about how long he stays, regardless of how well he plays.

St. Louis has already lost two players for nothing this season by placing them on waivers in an attempt to return them to the AHL. Barbashev is still on a two way deal, but so was Brad Hunt.

The Blues overextended his stay and fell into the unknown rule of a player staying more than 30 days in the NHL must clear waivers to return. If Barbashev is even close to what we hope he can be, you cannot let that slip away in the same careless fashion.

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It sucks losing Brodziak since the Blues have clearly faltered without veteran presence in the locker room. However, maybe it is a blessing in disguise.

We can’t put too much pressure on Barbashev. At the rate he was going, it might have been wiser to leave him in the AHL for an entire year for seasoning. However, the Blues needed a center and it’s time to at least see what they have.

If he does not do well, that does not mean he is finished. There is still time for him to develop. If he performs well though, there might be reason to be excited for the future. Fingers crossed people.