The St. Louis Blues have seen injuries to some top players lately, such as Robert Thomas and Nick Leddy. Injuries always require some sort of lineup reshuffling, but the Blues are in a rather unique situation, with Oskar Sundqvist making his long-awaited return to take care of the spot at forward.
But what will happen when we ultimately see Leddy back in the lineup? There are two defensemen who could find their way back into Springfield. Also, I have one forward who hasn't seen much ice time listed as a potential return to Springfield as well, even with Thomas' injury.
Let’s talk about three names to watch and why they could be on their way out of Gateway City, at least temporarily.
Zachary Bolduc
Now that Oskar Sundqvist will be back in the lineup, he’ll force an odd man out situation once Robert Thomas is ready to roll again, which won't be for a while. However, Zachary Bolduc is still a player who made this list not because he hasn’t been impressive, as he’s been putting up sound performances on the fourth line, but because nobody else in the lineup can use more experience in the AHL.
Bolduc is in his age-21 season and is putting up just 11:37 of average total ice time, so if there’s one player, at the moment who would likely get sent down with the Blues winning games, it’s him. That said, I wouldn’t see him sticking around with the Springfield Thunderbirds for long, as he should be the first call-up if another injury occurred to a forward.
Thomas' injury certainly changes things, and Bolduc has been playing well enough to remain in Gateway City. So this first one is based mainly on speculation that the Blues could call up someone with organizational depth while reassigning Bolduc. Now, let's get into a pair of players who have a higher likelihood of going to Springfield.
Matthew Kessel
Once again, we’re looking at what will happen regarding an injury to a player who is currently logging regular ice time. It doesn’t look like Nick Leddy will miss much action, so that leaves the door open for two players to possibly head back down to Springfield, with Matthew Kessel being the first.
Kessel has seen time in six games heading into Thursday, with just 11:58 of average total ice time and zero points to show for it. He also leads the team in giveaways with 12, and this averages to two turnovers per contest, so if there’s one player you may count on returning to Springfield come November 1st, it’s Kessel.
Scott Perunovich
There’s also a possibility Scott Perunovich goes to the AHL instead, and I’m sure many Blues fans will agree they’ve seen about enough of him, as he posted just 17 points in 54 games last year across 15:16 of average total ice time.
But if Perunovich impresses should he receive adequate ice time in what could/would be his season debut Thursday night, then perhaps it’s either Kessel or a player who just barely missed the cut for this list, Pierre-Olivier Joseph. It will be interesting to watch and see if Perunovich manages to take advantage of the situation.