Today, Nick Leddy will return to the Blues lineup for the first time since October 15th when the Blues lost to the Minnesota Wild by a score of 4-1. Leddy played 20 minutes on the ice that game. As glad Blues fans should be that Leddy is healthy, there are some things about his game that should worry some fans.
Why Leddy returning is not a positive for the Blues
Nick Leddy is a defenseman that has always been dependable on playing a lot of minutes in his Blues tenure. But the quality of those minutes has dropped in the last half season or so. Now, Leddy and Colton Parayko were probably the Blues' best pair at times last year, but there are so many facets of his game that are inconsistent.
In his four-game sample size this season, Leddy is a -3. Whether his slow start was because he was injured or if it was just bad play is yet to be seen. I believe it takes more of the eye test to evaluate Leddy, because if you just look at the basic stats, there isn't too much to say he makes questionable and sometimes loses games out on the ice.
We shouldn't bash on Leddy because of how he makes some questionable plays at times, because what NHL defenseman doesn't? The criticism tends to be the fact that he is making four million dollars a year and is one of the latest defensemen signed to an overpriced contract. Doug sure loves his long-term deals, doesn't he?
Leddy is taking away time from other defenseman who deserve time
Whether or not you like it, Leddy is going to play, which is frustrating. His return means that you aren't going to see as much Tyler Tucker or Matthew Kessel, twoyoung defenseman who have shown signs of improvement this season.
The Blues are still paying the price for the horrendous defenseman extensions they gave Justin Faulk, Torey Krug, and Nick Leddy a couple of years back. What's even more frustrating is that without Leddy this season, the Blues have had an average defense for the first time since around 2020-2021. Young players should be blocked from playing because they aren't ready, not because a veteran with a bad contract got healthy.