Blues’ Tyler Tucker To Miss Start Of Season

Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker is expected to miss at least one game to start the regular season after tweaking his knee in practice last weekend, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports. He hasn’t been placed on injured reserve yet, but since he hasn’t suited up in six days, he would be eligible for a retroactive placement to help St. Louis avoid making an additional roster cut before Monday’s opening-night roster submission deadline. The Blues could then activate Tucker at any time, roster space permitting.

Lower-body issues have repeatedly popped up for Tucker since he established himself as a full-time NHL option early in the 2024-25 campaign. He wasn’t an option for the tail end of the Blues’ first-round elimination at the hands of the Jets that year, and he also missed six games down the stretch last season with a lower-body injury. Whether any of those were knee-related is unknown.

Tucker is a roster lock, particularly with the Blues’ roster already down to just 25 names. If they place him on IR to start the year, that leaves them with just one more cut to make – which will be third-string goalie Georgi Romanov, barring any last-minute injuries to Jordan Binnington or Joel Hofer.

As such, it looks like 2023 first-round pick Theo Lindstein will crack the opening-night roster for the first time and take Tucker’s depth spot on the left side, at least for a game or two. Veteran recall option Calle Rosen, who hasn’t seen NHL ice since February 2024, is still with the club and could open the season as a healthy extra before hitting waivers when Tucker returns.