Blues Assign Logan Mailloux On Conditioning Stint

The St. Louis Blues will return an up-and-coming defenseman relatively soon. According to a team announcement, the Blues have assigned defenseman Logan Mailloux to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds on a conditioning stint.

Mailloux, 23, has been on the shelf since late November after fighting Chicago Blackhawks forward Cole Smith during a preseason contest. The injury required surgery, keeping Mailloux on the injured reserve since.

St. Louis acquired Mailloux in a traditional hockey trade with the Montreal Canadiens. The Blues sent forward Zachary Bolduc to the Canadiens for the former 31st overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft.

So far, Montreal has gotten better bang for their buck. Mailloux struggled through his first season with St. Louis, scoring five goals and 13 points in 67 games with a -10 rating, averaging 16:46 of ice time per game. He was far more physical than he ever was with the Canadiens, but his 48.3% CorsiFor and 88.8% on-ice SV% at even strength left a lot of room for improvement.

Still, if his AHL production is any indication, the Blues should be able to get much more out of Mailloux. In the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, with the Laval Rocket, Mailloux scored 26 goals and 80 points in 135 games with a -3 rating. Last season, Mailloux scored two goals in five games with the Thunderbirds.

There’s no question the Blues need help on the blue line. Despite having the seventh-best team SV%, St. Louis is tied for 21st in Goals Against per game. In all fairness, it will take more than Mailloux to turn around the defensive corps, but he will at least provide the team with more depth, particularly on the left side.