The St. Louis Blues will be without forward Oskar Sundqvist for several games. The 25-year-old suffered or aggravated a lower-body injury Tuesday night against the Calgary Flames. The team announced the move early Wednesday afternoon.
#stlblues announce they’ve placed Sundqvist on IR with a lower-body injury.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) January 29, 2020
Oskar Sundqvist Out With Lower-Body Injury
This injury comes during a season in which Sundqvist is having another fine campaign. The former third-round pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins has 11 goals and 20 points in 44 games this year. His point-per-game pace is right in-line with 2018-19 when he scored 14 goals and 31 points in 74 games.
Sundqvist has been an effective bottom-six option for the Blues and really established himself in last season’s playoffs with four goals and nine points during St. Louis’ run to the Stanley Cup. He and fellow bottom-six forward Ivan Barbashev provide one of the more skilled duos playing in-depth roles in the NHL. This injury might not amount to much but St. Louis is trying to figure out how aggressive they need to be in the final months of the season. Injuries only delay that decision-making process.
What This Means for the Future
St. Louis is losing one of their skilled bottom-six forwards but they have plenty of options. The Blues can recall several players including Troy Brouwer and Klim Kostin if necessary but also have the talented Sammy Blais ready for more work as well. This injury doesn’t do much to derail the 2019-20 campaign as St. Louis has a comfortable lead over the Colorado Avalanche in the Central Division.
This also does not hurt Sundqvist financially. The Swedish forward still has a deal that runs through the 2022-23 season. The Blues have some interesting financial decisions to make this summer with Alex Pietrangelo‘s impending free agency but Sundqvist shouldn’t affect that at all. The team has many other assets they can try to move to squeeze their best defender in under the salary cap.
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