3. Mackenzie MacEachern
MacEachern saw a good amount of playing time during the preseason for the Blues this year. St. Louis brought him back on a two-year contract this offseason which turned out to be the longest deal that the Blues handed out this summer.
The additions of Oskar Sundqvist and Kevin Hayes complicate MacEachern’s involvement on the Blues’ opening-night roster, which led to his placement on waivers and his inevitable arrival in the American Hockey League.
Not only did the offseason additions not help MacEachern’s role on the opening roster for St. Louis, but he got outplayed in training camp by Nikita Alexandrov. Alexandrov had a much more productive season for St. Louis last year than MacEachern did for the Carolina Hurricanes, and he has been given the depth forward role at the NHL level.
Zachary Bolduc could have also factored into the equation here. However, the Blues would rather give him some consistent playing time in one of the Blues top forward groups. Unlike Jake Neighbours, who has a great physical element to his game, Bolduc is one of the most skilled forwards in the system.
St. Louis is prepared for whatever injuries or poor performances may happen this season. The front office deserves credit for creating some insurance policies for different areas on the ice.