The St. Louis Blues announced that defenceman Carl Gunnarsson was placed on IR with an undisclosed injury. In a corresponding move, Niko Mikkola was recalled from the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL.
Carl Gunnarsson has been placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Niko Mikkola has been recalled from @sarampage. https://t.co/9QJcXz3jAc #stlblues
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 13, 2019
Carl Gunnarsson Injured
So far this season, Gunnarsson has scored one goal and three assists for four points to go along with ten minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 43.8% Corsi For and a relative Corsi of -5.7.
Over his 11-year NHL career, Gunnarsson has played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the St.Louis Blues. He has 29 goals and 104 assists for 133 career points in 598 career games. St. Louis originally drafted in the 7th round, 194th overall in the 2007 NHL draft.
What This Means for the Future
With Gunnarsson out for the forseeable future, Mikkola will get a chance to draw into the Blues lineup. Mikkola has yet to play an NHL game and will want to show the Blues management what he is capable of. So far this season with the Rampage, Mikkola has two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 26 games played.
Mikkola brings a hard-nose style game to the St. Louis Blues. He can win puck battles in the corner and provide toughness when needed. He is a strong skater and his ability to make plays with the puck is a definite positive to his game.
Although an injury never brings joy to any team in the NHL, the Blues should be just fine wthout Gunnarsson. They are the top team in the Western Conference and sit fourth in league standings with a 19-8-6 record. The Blues will try to keep their success going over the next few days as they welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to town for the second game of four game homestand.
SAN JOSE, CA – MARCH 08: Carl Gunnarsson #4 of the St. Louis Blues skates with the puck against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on March 8, 2018 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Rocky W. Widner/NHL/Getty Images)
