The St. Louis Blues currently hold the top wildcard spot in the West. Two weeks ago the Blues were second in the central only chasing Colorado. The month of March has been rough for the Blues as they fall down the standings. Back to back games against the Vancouver Canucks is next on the schedule to close out the month. Turn three wins into five and push the month of March behind will put the Blues in a better position to close out the regular season.
The injuries are pilling up again as Torey Krug is week-to-week following an upper body injury from the Washington Capitals game. Tyler Bozak is placed on IR with a lower body injury. Robert Thomas and Tarasenko are back but both were banged up and missed a couple games.
The Blues bring in some help on the blue line by adding Nick Leddy at the trade deadline. Sending Oskar Sundqvist, Jake Walman and second round pick in next years draft for Nick Leddy and Luke Witkowski. Great trade for the Red Wings as GM Steve Yzerman fleeces another team in the NHL. The Blues need help on defense especially if Krug is out, but brining in an aging Nick Leddy is not the answer. I hate this trade, I feel like Oskar Sunqvist is worth more to the Blues than Nick Leddy at the blue line. This also gives me flashbacks of the Robby Fabbri trade and maybe the Blues should stop sending high quality players to the Red Wings. Nick Leddy would have been beneficial for the Blues like five years ago.
David Perron has been on fire lately and one of the two lone bright spots for the Blues during the month of March. His eight game point streak (10 goals and 4 assists) came to an end when he failed to score against the Hurricanes in the 7-2 loss. The second positive I want to take away from the losing streak is Alexei Toropchenko. The 22-year-old from Russia has been a menace as of late and continues to show why he deserves to be on NHL roster full time.
Will James Neal get called back up? Hard to imagine the veteran stays in the AHL during the month of April but we shall see.
The St. Louis Blues sign Matt Kessel to entry level contract which begins next season. According to Andy Strickland Kessel is an under the radar prospect.
The Morning Skate 