The St. Louis Blues will enter the 2016-17 regular season at less than one hundred percent.
The team announced Friday morning that forward Jaden Schwartz will miss at least four weeks with a left elbow injury that was suffered during practice.
St. Louis Blues Jaden Schwartz Sidelined for at Least Four Weeks
Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock said the injury occurred when Schwartz and fellow teammate Alexander Steen were tangled up while performing a drill. Hitchcock didn’t seem too worried about Schwartz’s absence in the lineup when he addressed the media this morning:
That’s the one position where we’ve got a lot of depth. we’ve got a lot of guys vying for wing positions.
Hitchcock said St. Louis will “probably” miss Schwartz for five or six games, which he says is something that he’s comfortable dealing with. The Blues bench boss said it could have been a lot worse.
YOU GET AN INJURY LIKE THAT AND IT COULD BE NOTHING AND IT COULD BE SURGERY, YOU DON’T KNOW. WE’LL DEAL WITH IT.
Schwartz, 24, played in only 33 games last season after fracturing his ankle during practice. He missed 12 weeks (49 games) with the injury and had difficulties getting up to speed when he returned to the lineup. Nonetheless, Schwartz put up 22 points (8G, 14A) and was heavily productive in the postseason, adding 14 points in 20 playoff games. He was awarded in the offseason with a five-year, $26.75 million contract (an average annual value of $5.35).
The Blues have the rest of the preseason to figure out who will assume Schwartz’s spot in the lineup. Forwards TJ Galiardi, Magnus Paajarvi and Kenny Agostino have the chance to benefit in the short-term.
St. Louis opens up the season on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 12th.
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