There’re a few surprises to be had.
With Nikita Alexandrov being assigned to Springfield yesterday, and Josh Leivo and Jake Neighbours heading to Springfield today, Blues fans were left wondering if these moves were just for cap management.
Apparently fans are smarter than we look, because whoever suspected that was right on the money.
#stlblues announce 2022-23 roster: 12F, 7D, 2G and 2 injuries (Scandella and Perunovich).
In case you missed it, Leivo (who cleared waivers) and Neighbours were assigned to the AHL. But those were paper moves to become cap compliant and maximize LTIR. They’ll be back on roster.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) October 10, 2022
#stlblues roster
Forwards (12): Acciari, Barbashev, Brown, Buchnevich, Kyrou, O’Reilly, Saad, Schenn, Tarasenko, Thomas, Toropchenko, Walker.
Defense (7): Bortuzzo, Faulk, Krug, Leddy, Mikkola, Parayko, Rosen.
Goalies (2): Binnington, Greiss
Injured (2): Perunovich, Scandella
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) October 10, 2022
Who will Neighbours and Leivo replace? Alexey Toropchenko is still injured, though recovering faster than expected. Logan Brown’s still a bit banged up, so there’s a potential spot if he doesn’t return from injury soon. That could be where Leivo starts off to begin the season.
The seven defensemen are who we thought they would be. Calle Rosen slots in as the seventh defenseman while the team waits for Marco Scandella and Scott Perunovich’s return in six months or so. There’s not much wiggle room for anyone if they struggle, nor is there much past Rosen if anyone else gets hurt, so here’s hoping for strong play from the defensive corps as a whole and an injury free start to the season.
The Blues can make adjustments to their roster until Saturday, the season opener.