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St. Louis Blues Paul Stastny Injured Early In Season Yet Again

By Matt Caspari

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Apr 2, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues center David Backes (42) congratulates St. Louis Blues center Paul Stastny (26) after he scored a goal against the Calgary Flames during the second period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

St. Louis Blues center Paul Stastny has returned to St. Louis and will not be with the team for the final two games of their six-game road trip, according to the Blues. Stastny left Friday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks in the second period after blocking a shot.

Stastny has five points through his first five games this season. After a productive start to the season, Stastny will miss an unknown amount of time to an injury. This whole situation gives me a feeling of déjà vu.

After signing a four-year contract with the Blues to kick off the 2014 free agency period, Stastny became a hugely anticipated player in St. Louis. Stastny proved worthy of the anticipation by collecting four points in his first three games with the Blues. In the fourth game of the season, Stastny injured his shoulder.

Stastny would miss the next eight games as a result of the injury. Even though Stastny was able to rejoin the Blues after eight games, his high level of play took a bit longer to return. In 74 games last year, Stastny tallied 46 points (16 goals, 30 assists). 46 points is a decent amount, but it is not enough to justify the $7 million per year that Stastny is averaging from his four-year $28 million contract.

It was his first year with the team, what if he needed to adjust to the new city? He was off to a good start last year, maybe the injury did more damage than he thought.

One could easily go crazy thinking of all the other ways Stastny’s first season with the Blues could have gone. Could he have kept his point per game pace? If he never injured his shoulder, would Stastny have played on a line with Vladimir Tarasenko for an extended period?

Listing hypothetical scenarios can’t change anything about the 2014-2015 season. Instead, Stastny should focus on what he can do to ensure his next three seasons with the Blues are better than his first.

Stastny had all summer to get ready for this season. He remembers how he only got to play four games and tally four points before being injured last season. Stastny must have promised himself that his 2015 self would start the season with more points and games played than the 2014 version. How else can you explain only lasting one more game and scoring one more point?

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Hopefully early season injuries following early season success will not define Stastny’s tenure with the Blues. Only time will be able to tell how this newest injury will effect Stastny and the Blues.

Questions about last season may be useless, but there are countless questions that could be asked about the center’s newest injury. The questions that really matter: How long will Stastny be out? And perhaps even more importantly, how will Stastny play when he does return to the team?

I may not know how severe Stastny’s injury is, but I still fully believe he will be a great player for the Blues. Hopefully he returns quickly and can show that he is earning his $7 million this season.

What are your thoughts on Paul Stastny’s first year with the Blues? How will his injury affect the team moving forward?

Next: St. Louis Blues Opening High Points

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