St. Louis Blues Ex-Players Might Reunite With Edmonton Oilers

The St. Louis Blues had some hard decisions to make when they kept adding outside talent to their roster. While it was the right decision, it could come back to bit them too.

As fans, it is always hard to know what the truth is about behind the scenes. However, if we are to believe the reports, the St. Louis Blues did not want someone like Kyle Brodziak to leave.

St. Louis was interested in retaining his services. It would have needed to be at the right price.

That price was not the $1.15 million he got from Edmonton. The increase in pay and the chance to be closer to home were too much for Brodziak to turn down.

It was a pain to lose him. He was a solid center who played a great defensive game. Brodziak was skilled enough to play higher up the roster, as we saw in 2017-18, but was willing to accept a role and do it to the best of his abilities.

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The fourth line won’t be quite the same without him. The same could be said of Scottie Upshall.

Upshall also took a reduced role when coming to the Blues from Florida. Despite this, he was a consistent performer, managing to chip in with some scoring and playing solid defense as well.

However, we expected Upshall’s departure a little more. The Blues already parted ways with him prior to the 2017-18 season. It was only the litany of injuries that prompted them to call him back in the middle of his tryout with Vancouver during the preseason.

St. Louis is deep enough now that they should not have to dip into those waters again. However, Upshall is trying his luck north of the border once more.

Upshall has signed a tryout-contract with the Edmonton Oilers, which only guarantees him a look through the preseason. However, Upshall will have that friendly face waiting for him.

Brodziak and Upshall were a great duo, forming two-thirds of one of the best fourth lines in the league. They were not counted on for much offense, but they did everything that was asked of them and more.

Now, they bring that to the Oilers. For a team that struggled to keep pucks out of the net, their addition could be a welcome presence.

The Oilers have enough offensive firepower. Brodziak and Upshall might be just what the doctor ordered on the back-end to clean things up. Whether that comes to fruition or not remains to be seen.

It did not work so well for Troy Brouwer to go home to Calgary. The Flames did not get the boost from the former Blues player they expected and Brouwer was just bought out of his contract.

Brodziak and Upshall are trying the same thing, both being Alberta natives. Blues fans might find it difficult to root for them much if Edmonton ever lives up to their potential as an up and coming contender.

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For now, let us hope they both do well. If both are healthy and ready to continue their careers, so be it. Upshall will have the most difficulty, coming off a knee injury and then a lacerated kidney. If both make the team, they would return to St. Louis on December 5.

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