St. Louis Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson made his season debut Thursday night against the Flames and showed how much he was missed in his absence.
The St. Louis Blues struggled defensively to start the season, whether Edmundson’s absence was primarily to blame for this issues, we will never know. However, the way he was able to make an immediate impact on the team shows that he was missed greatly.
St. Louis still gave up three goals to the Calgary Flames on Thursday, but it was due to the fact that the Blues were playing prevent defense while protecting a 5-1 lead.
It wasn’t only the defensive ability for Edumdson in his return for the lineup, but his offensive abilities as well.
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Joel Edmundson was also able to net the Blues third goal of the game on an assist from Robert Thomas and Ivan Barbashev.
His offensive numbers have increased over the past few years. Edmundson scored a career-high seven goals last season and his point totals have increased every year over the past four seasons.
The Blues started the trend of allowing the defensemen to join the offensive attack and as a result, the entire defense has had increased offensive numbers.
However, the real value that Edmundson brings is on the defensive side of the puck. With him in the lineup with Alex Pietrangelo, it pushes everyone down the lineup, creating more depth on the Blue line.
St. Louis was forced to play some players that may not be NHL caliber talent during the first two games of the season while both Edmundson and Carl Gunnarsson were out with injuries.
Players like Jordan Schmaltz and Chris Butler were called upon early in the season to fill the void that was left by some injured Blues.
There are still some defensive issues for the Blues that they need to figure out, but having Edmundson back in the lineup is a great start.
It cannot go unnoticed that Edmundson makes this team significantly better and is a perennial top 4 defender in the league. He is only 25 years old and is a restricted free agent after the 2018-2019 season.
The St. Louis Blues and their fans may not have expected Edmundson to make an immediate impact on the season like he did on Thursday, but his presence in the lineup will help the Blues turn their season around.
The Blues have registered points in two of the first three games of the season and Edmundson should only help the Blues as the season moves on.
St. Louis is headed to a difficult portion of the schedule and Joel’s abilities will help against tough opponents.