The St. Louis Blues have officially moved Brandon Saad to injured reserve after confirming the veteran forward would miss Thursday’s game earlier in the week. Saad is dealing with an upper-body injury that will now keep him out at least a week, the minimum IR stint.
In his place, Jake Neighbours has been recalled from the minor leagues once again.
Saad, 30, never did put up the offensive numbers that some expected after his first few years in the NHL, but he is still a quality two-way player that can be relied on in several situations. With 15 goals in 46 games this year he’s also provided some nice secondary scoring, though his overall impact has begun to decline.
The Blues don’t appear likely to make a push this season, and have already sold off a couple of their expiring contracts. Getting Neighbours up and into some offensive situations was probably the plan all along. This injury will just speed up the process.
Still just 20, Neighbours already has 36 games under his belt at the NHL level and has scored 10 points. His transition to pro hockey hasn’t been incredibly smooth but it has still been impressive, given he was drafted at the end of the first round and has barely played in the minor leagues. He’ll likely get a huge opportuntity down the stretch to establish himself as a full-time roster player going into next season.
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