Today, the St. Louis Blues announced that they signed two NHL veteran forwards to player tryouts. That would be former Blue and Game 7 hero Troy Brouwer and former Florida Panther Jamie McGinn. The player tryouts come amidst the Blues suffering key long-term injuries to Vladimir Tarasenko, who will miss at least the next five months with a shoulder injury and to Alexander Steen, who will miss around a month with a high ankle sprain. Both McGinn and Brouwer have played in over 600 career NHL games and could help provide the veteran presence the team seeks to add in the absence of two of their biggest leaders.
After Steen went down with the ankle injury in Edmonton last week, the Blues announced that they traded depth forward Robby Fabbri to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Jacob De La Rose. Being that the Blues’ forward depth was becoming thin due to injuries and that Fabbri had been traded, there was speculation from fans wondering if prized prospects Jordan Kyrou or Klim Kostin would be next in line and would be called up to the team. But with today’s news of the PTO’s, it is clear Doug Armstrong is valuing adding a veteran presence to the locker room as opposed to a rookie. Here is why this is a wise move from Doug Armstrong.
While everyone is ready to see what Kyrou and Kostin can do at the NHL level, there is no need to rush them into the league. Jordan Kyrou is just 21 years old and is finally getting playing time in the AHL after recovering from a knee injury he suffered in the preseason. He has only played in three games with the San Antonio Rampage and pushing him up into the NHL would not do him any favors while he still gets his feet under him in the AHL for this season. Kyrou also struggled in the time he spent with the Blues last season, having just one goal and two assists in 16 games before finishing the 2018-19 season strong in the AHL, putting up 43 points in 47 games. Kyrou just needs to keep developing and get back to his strong caliber of play in the AHL before worrying about suiting up for the Blues.
It is also a good move for the Blues to keep Klim Kostin in San Antonio for the time being. Kostin did seem to make a giant improvement in his play this past offseason, as he was one of the best players on the ice for the Blues in the preseason a couple months ago. Kostin tallied three goals and three assists in five games which was tied for the team lead in points with three other players during the preseason. Some even believe Kostin had a chance to make the opening night roster but he was later sent down to the AHL on the last wave of roster moves. Kostin is even younger than Kyrou at 20, and some more time for him to develop in the American Hockey League could only benefit himself. After being drafted in June of 2017, Kostin struggled to adapt to the North American style of hockey. Kostin spent both the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons with the Rampage, and recorded a dainty 52 points (16G, 36A) in 133 games between those first two seasons. Thus far, Kostin looks much more acclimated to the game, as he has tallied eight points (3G, 5A) through 13 games with the Rampage. Regardless, he needs more time in the AHL to show he can produce consistently on offense before the Blues need to worry about calling him up.
Adding a veteran over a rookie is exactly what the Blues locker room needs at this point in time. The team record and points total is the best in the Western Conference and scoring has not been an issue, as the Blues are tied for eighth in the NHL in total team goals scored and average over three goals scored a game. Therefore, there is no need to rush up a prospect in hopes for some scoring. The Blues are down Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen, two of the bigger leaders of the Blues both vocally and by example in their play. Adding a rookie into a locker room just adds more uncertainty as opposed to a guy like Brouwer or McGinn, guys who have been in the NHL for over a decade and can help lead a Blues roster that has several players in their early twenties.
Adding Troy Brouwer or Jamie McGinn would not only increase morale with their leadership and physical play but could provide a potential unforeseen spark to depth scoring on the offensive end. Brouwer has played in almost 850 NHL games and has had three seasons in his career where he reached at least 20 goals and 40 points. He was also a catalyst for the Blues in the playoffs during the 2015-16 season where they ultimately finished two wins away from a Stanley Cup Final berth. Brouwer had 13 points (8G, 5A) in the 20 playoff games (5th best on the team) including the game winning goal in the third period of Game 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening round. Brouwer had an argument for biggest goal in Blues history up until this past season when the team finally won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history which included several iconic goals and moments. Brouwer most recently played with the Florida Panthers in the 2018-19 season and had 12 goals and nine assists in 75 games. Brouwer is now 34 years old now which will lead to questions about how much he has left in tank and what he can contribute but could easily put up 10 goals in a third line role, similar to what Pat Maroon supplied to the team last season.
Jamie McGinn himself has had two 20 goal seasons and has come close to 40 points in a season several times throughout his career. He has spent parts of 11 seasons with six different teams and was teammates with Troy Brouwer with the Panthers during the 2018-19 campaign where he had four goals and three assists in just 19 games which was a short stint because of a back injury McGinn had suffered. McGinn is younger than Brouwer at 31 and could still have a few years left of solid service in the NHL before hanging up the skates.
If both of these guys are still in NHL shape, one of them could be a valuable addition for the Blues given their current situation. They are both big, physical players that can score goals and do the dirty work that is necessary to win hockey games. Brouwer was also an important piece to the Blues power play in 2015-16, as seven of his 18 goals during that season came on the power play. Adding Brouwer of course may be favored by fans over McGinn due to the nostalgia of his Game 7 goal three years ago, but McGinn is also younger than Brouwer and could potentially provide more value to the Blues. Either way, adding one of these witty vets to the locker room would be a much wiser decision by the Blues management and coaching staff as opposed to calling up a rookie who may not be ready and is not needed at this time given where the team is at.
