St. Louis Blues Loss Of Dmitrij Jaskin Means Young Players Must Step Up

The St. Louis Blues took a calculated risk with some waiver moves just before their final roster was announced. One move, in particular, did not quite work out how the team had hoped.

The St. Louis Blues took a gamble by placing Dmitirj Jaskin on waivers as they made their final trims to the 2018-19 opening roster. The Blues’ depth will be tested as Jaskin is no longer a member of their organization.

Jaskin got picked up by the Washington Capitals, where he is expected to report to their AHL franchise in Hershey. That move seems a bit underhanded, since it could be perceived as retribution for losing Tom Wilson to an assumed suspension. However, it is within the rules and Jaskin is not going to be used in their NHL team, so the argument is weakened a bit.

Overall, it is an odd situation. So many fans, myself included had soured on Jaskin enough that his departure was openly asked for. However, most of us were hoping it would be a salary move or as part of a trade. Losing Jaskin to waivers is another punch in the gut.

The Blues have not had much getting players to clear waivers in recent years. Nate Prosser, Ty Rattie, Brad Hunt and Magnus Paajarvi are all players lost for no compensation lately.

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None of those names are exactly game changers when it comes to roster makeup. Even so, when you lose depth, that puts more pressure on the guys in the NHL to stay healthy and perform.

That is exactly what is going to happen to the Blues now. We are going to get exactly what we wanted with Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Sammy Blais making the opening night roster. However, they won’t be able to get eased in.

In theory, until we see the actual lines released, we could have an entire line made up of rookies or pseudo-rookies. As talented as they all are, they are not used to playing fourth line minutes or having the defensive responsibility of a traditional fourth line.

The NHL is moving toward a more skilled league, with less physicality. Even so, you still need players that are going to go out there and bang a little. Whether we agree with the totals or not, Jaskin was statistically the team’s leader in hits in 2017-18. Other players, even if you take the rookies out of that equation, must step up and fill that role.

On top of everything, it is a tiny bit sour to lose Jaskin just when he seemed settled into a certain role. At the end of last year and during the preseason this year, Jaskin had molded himself nicely into a fourth line player. He was scoring goals in the World Championships and the preseason, while also playing a solid defensive game in the minutes he was being given.

In the end, Jaskin is not going to be the difference in the Blues winning or not. However, this team’s depth will now be tested. Guys you might not have wanted to use for more than 40 games or so are going to have to push themselves for an entire season, potentially.

Again, he might not have been a huge loss. It takes some of the cushion of reliability out of the equation though.