The St. Louis Blues were hit with yet another injury with the news that forward Dillon Dube will be re-evaluated in eight weeks for a neck injury. Dube, who scored a short-handed goal on the penalty kill in the Blues' home opener against the San Jose Sharks, took a headfirst dive into the boards early in the first period of the team's 3-2 loss Thursday night. Dube played the rest of the game and scored early in the third period. He was left out of practice after the hit while the team waited for an MRI to confirm the injury's severity.
The team found the injury bug early this season, after losing defenseman Tyler Tucker and Logan Mailloux for six to eight weeks before the season even began. Dube is now the second forward the Blues have lost to injury in the first four regular-season games. Forward Alexey Toropchenko went down with an upper-body injury in the season opener against the Dallas Stars, and Dube slotted in as his replacement on the fourth line alongside Pius Suter and Ross Johnston. While the line hasn't clicked right away, Dube has contributed heavily on the penalty kill, scoring a short-handed goal in Thursday's loss to the San Jose Sharks. With Dube now sidelined and Toropchenko still out for several weeks, the Blues will need to make a roster move and call up a forward.
Potential Call-Ups
With only 12 healthy forwards on the roster after the losses of Toropchenko and Dube, the Blues will likely make a roster move before their road trip begins on Tuesday. Zach Dean is slated to slide into Dube's spot on the fourth line Saturday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but the team will want an extra forward to give head coach Jim Montgomery roster flexibility until the team is healthy again.
The obvious names are veterans Nathan Walker and Oskar Sundqvist, two players who have played fourth-line roles for the Blues over the last several seasons and who know the style of play Montgomery wants to implement there. However, both players had less-than-stellar training camps, opening the door for younger players to get opportunities in the organization.
Forwards Dylan Peterson and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki are two names Blues fans could see called up following the injury news. Both players impressed during training camp and were among the team's final roster trim-downs as the preseason ended. Both players are waiver-exempt and can be called up and sent down without another team claiming them. Peterson and Kaskimaki fit the youth movement the Blues have built their roster around and could bring the spark and energy the fourth line has lacked in Toropchenko's absence.
Opportunity for Zach Dean
With the fourth-line injuries, Zach Dean could see significant time in the lineup after a strong training camp. Dean made the roster outright following the preseason and has appeared in one game so far this season. He is slotted as Dube's immediate replacement and could become a long-term fourth-line starter if he plays well. Like Dube, Dean offers the Blues' offensive upside on the fourth line. Dean took two penalties in his only appearance of the season in the Blues' 6-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, played just over 12 minutes, and hasn't appeared since. He can take the spot if he plays more responsibly and becomes a steady, reliable player alongside Suter and Johnston, but if he doesn't improve, he could be on a shorter leash pending a roster move.
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