The St. Louis Blues’ 2022-23 season was a shocking disappointment for fans and management alike, leading to the team becoming sellers at the trade deadline and ultimately finishing in a draft lottery position outside the playoffs. So, who bears the blames for the team’s failings? And who succeeded despite the team’s struggles? That’s what we’ll look to identify in our 2022-23 Blues’ Report Cards series.
Coming into the 2022-23 season, Calle Rosen was not a lock to make the team out of training camp. In fact, he was practically earmarked for a spot in the American Hockey League (AHL) until major injuries to both Marco Scandella and Scott Perunovich changed the construction of the St. Louis Blues’ defensive unit. Up until this season, the 29-year-old Swedish defenseman had never played in more than 18 NHL regular-season games, which he did for the Blues in 2021-22, scoring seven points (two goals) in the process, both of which were career highs. Given a chance in 2022-23, all of that changed in a hurry.
What Went Right: Nearly Everything
After watching him all season and taking a peek at his stat lines, it is legitimately difficult to find something that didn’t go right for Rosen this season. He only played in 49 games, never once being reassigned to the AHL, and notched career highs in literally every category, including points (18), goals (eight), and assists (10).
His eight goals ranked second on the team among defenseman and his plus-19 rating was first regardless of position. All of this while playing only 764 total minutes, which was 407 minutes less than Torey Krug who scored seven goals and had a plus/minus of minus-26.
What Went Wrong: Couldn’t Crack the Lineup at Times
As I said above, Rosen was only in the lineup for 49 of the Blues‘ 82 games this season. The franchise has a lot of money tied up in their defensive core, particularly on the left side (Krug, Nick Leddy, Scandella), so if one or even two of them were playing well, I could see that being the reason Rosen was left on the bench. But that was not the case this season, as nearly all of their well-paid defenders merited losing playing time, which should have led to an even bigger role for someone like Rosen.
Fans and writer alike were left wondering why he was a healthy scratch while perhaps less-deserving players took the ice most nights.
Key Stats
Final Grade: A+
I’m not sure what else Rosen needed to show head coach Craig Berube to keep him in the lineup on a nightly basis. Even with him being a left-handed shot, he was capable of playing on the right side and did so on many occasions throughout the season when injuries to that side came around. Regardless of how much he wasn’t in the lineup, this was a true breakout-type of season for him. We’ll find out next season if it was an aberration or not.
What’s Next for Rosen?
Luckily for the Blues, they signed Rosen to a two-year, two-way contract extension last offseason that keeps him with the organization in 2023-24 for only $775,000. Unfortunately for Rosen, if he remains with the club through this summer, it’s possible he finds himself as the sixth, seventh, or eighth defenseman come opening night. He deserves to be in someone’s top six, but with Krug, Leddy, Scandella, Tyler Tucker, and Perunovich all being left-handed defenders that are under contract for next season, it’s hard to see a clear-cut path to consistent playing time.
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