Blues place veteran defenseman on IR, recall offseason trade acquisition

The Blues announced that they’ve placed defenseman Nick Leddy on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. It’s presumably retroactive to his last appearance on Oct. 15 against the Wild, so he’ll be eligible to return whenever he’s cleared to play. He remains day-to-day, so his absence shouldn’t stretch for too much longer. They’ve filled his roster spot with forward Alexandre Texier, who’s coming off IR and will play Tuesday against the Jets, he told NHL.com’s Lou Korac.

Before Leddy’s injury, it was a tough start to the season for him. The 33-year-old went without a point and posted a -3 rating in four appearances, including a team-leading eight giveaways at the time of his injury. While he averaged over 22 minutes per game, he’s arguably already been usurped as the team’s top left-shot defender by Philip Broberg, who’s on an early-season tear with six points and a +6 rating through six games.

Texier, 25, will suit up for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury in St. Louis’ season opener against the Kraken two weeks ago. The offseason trade pickup from the Blue Jackets had an assist and two shots in 13:03 of ice time in his Blues debut. He’s coming off a career-high 12 goals and 30 points in 78 games for Columbus last year.