St. Louis Blues: Kenny Agostino Might Return Sooner Than Expected

The St. Louis Blues got a bad bit of news on Wednesday. They lost one piece for at least a couple days, but that might be good news for some other players.

The St. Louis Blues can’t seem to win for trying the last few weeks. Despite their recent winning streak, they have been hit by injuries more in the last month, it seems, than the entire season.

After getting Paul Stastny and Kyle Brodziak back from injury, it seemed as though the Blues would be able to finish the season with relative health. As Lee Corso famously says, not so fast my friend.

Ivan Barbashev picked up a knock after playing for the Chicago Wolves against the Cleveland Monsters. As usual, it is only being listed as an upper body injury and Jeremy Rutherford is reporting that the team does not consider it serious. Still, the Blues are not expected to release any further information until their bye-week ends either on Friday or Saturday.

St. Louis had sent Barbashev, as well as Magnus Paajarvi, down to save on cap room and to keep these players sharp during the Blues’ off week. It was expected that one or both would return for St. Louis’ next couple games. Now that might not be the case if Barbashev is hurt more than we are led to believe.

Looking on the bright side, that gives some opportunity to other guys. The Blues might take the easy route and just let Nail Yakupov or Dmitrij Jaskin get some playing time. Or, they could do the less expected and bring Kenny Agostino back up.

Agostino is not going to be the key to the Blues making the playoffs or making a run. Even at the peak of his powers, he is probably only a solid third line player at best in the NHL. Still, his energy and tenacity are more than welcome on this team.

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In seven games, he had one goal and three points. While he cooled off, having only one assist in his final five games with the Blues, he still was a productive player away from the puck. That cannot be discounted at this point of the season.

Additionally, unless there is a sudden dropoff, you know exactly what you’ll get from Agostino. Yakupov and Jaskin have much higher upsides, but you see that upside so rarely that it’s a gamble to put trust in them.

Also, at least Agostino is game ready. He played consistently after being brought up to the Blues. He also had an assist in the Wolves win where Barbashev got injured.

Yakupov has only played once in the last eight games. Jaskin has only played twice in the last 11. Both are practicing, but you can’t expect them to be game sharp by any means.

As Patrick Karraker pointed out in his article, Ty Rattie would be another candidate for a recall if Barbashev goes on the shelf. I’m not against the guy, but despite being reclaimed by the Blues it seems that ship has sailed. It might be better for him to spend the rest of the year in the AHL and see if Craig Berube can do anything with him.

Next: Blues Bye Week Already Not Working Out

Ideally, Barbashev is fine and able to be used against the Blackhawks if St. Louis wants to take that route. He has no more points than Agostino, but has proved to be even more versatile by showing he can contribute on the wing as well as at center.

However, if Agostino was given another shot instead of the Blues’ healthy scratches, I would not bat an eye. He’s never going to do what he’s done in the AHL in the NHL, but he’s earned his shot.