The St. Louis Blues announced Sunday afternoon that forward Alexei Toropchenko, will be re-evaluated in six weeks with an upper-body injury. The Russian forward's injury marks the third long-term absence of the season with only two regular season games played.
Defensemen Logan Mailloux and Tyler Tucker opened the season on injured reserve, Mailloux after hand surgery and Tucker after a knee procedure, and neither are expected to return before mid-November.
Toropchenko made it only one period into the regular season. He was behind his own net in Dallas on Friday when Lian Bichsel drove him into the glass, with Tyler Seguin also in on the play. He quickly grabbed his right arm and was helped off the ice, and did not return. Eight shifts, 5:08 of ice time, and the forward is now looking at returning back to action about the same week as Tucker.
The Blues are expected to go roughly 15-17 games without their 6-foot-6 fourth-line winger. While this is not a top-six winger crisis, it is another hole that the group will have to plug not only for five-on-five play, but on the penalty kill as well.
What the Blues are losing
Toropchenko is in the first year of a two-year, $5 million cap hit through the 2027-28 season. The offensive upside that was once thought could be a long-term upside for him has already thinned out. He scored 14 goals in the 2023-24 season, then four in each of the last two. Last season he scored four goals and 11 points with a minus-11 rating in 65 games with 132 hits and 56 blocks while averaging just under 12 minutes a game.
While the offense has dried up, Toropchenko has developed into a reliable fourth liner for the Blues, using his physical stature to his advantage on the penalty kill. In the 2023-24 season, his short-handed time climbed to 84 minutes, and continued to climb to 106 minutes during last season. Averaging this all out across a six-week absence, the Blues are losing roughly around two to three points and at least 30 hits against their opposition.
Dillon Dube is viable plug-and-play option that the Blues could insert into the lineup, but is a bit of a different profile than Toropchenko. He had 18 goals and 45 points in 46 AHL games with the Springfield Thunderbirds last season. However, he is not the 225-pound forechecker that can just be thrown out on to the ice when short-handed.
Depth options
With Zach Dean and Dube already on the roster, the Blues will likely opt to call-up another forward to give them an extra body on the roster. Oskar Sundqvist, Nathan Walker, and Jack Finley have cleared waivers and were assigned to Springfield as some of the last cuts to the roster ahead of the regular season.
Walker could be the cleanest short-term fit as a player who plays with a bit of pep in his step with his physical game. He is not an exact match, but is one who can provide another depth-scoring element to the Blues lineup after scoring four goals and 11 points last season, and 27 points over his last 119 NHL games.
Sundqvist is the safer option if the Blues are looking to fit a player into the lineup and on the penalty kill. The 6-foot-3 winger had 17 points in 52 games last season averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time and and 197-231 (46%) on the faceoff dot.
Should the Blues look to go with a youth option, Dylan Peterson and Otto Stenberg could be options for them. Stenberg did not impress as much as the Peterson did in the preseason and may benefit from a long-term stint in the AHL before considering a recall. Peterson, 24, brings a youthful, scrappy upside who could bring the most logical and seamless insert into the lineup if the Blues go with a younger player for this role.
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