Even after the Blues launched Tyler Pitlick from his skilled tryout be offering with the team on Oct. 7, his nameplate remained over an empty stall on the membership’s practice rink. He was once long past, however obviously now not forgotten.
On Sunday, Pitlick was once back, skating with the team in practice at Enterprise Center the day after its season opener. He nonetheless hasn’t signed with the Blues, however below the present scenario that turns out rather conceivable as the team prepares to head out on a weeklong travel.
For Pitlick, that is PTO Part 2.
“Pretty much,” he mentioned. “That’s about all I know. I’m back and practicing for a bit here and they’re gonna take a look at me and see how it goes.”
With 23 gamers at the roster at the present time, the Blues would have to make a roster transfer to add him, which most certainly method there isn’t excellent information about Logan Brown’s standing. Brown hasn’t skated since making a temporary look at the ice in the Blues’ first day of coaching remaining Monday in Charleston, South Carolina, so a travel to the injured reserve record turns out an increasing number of most probably. The Blues have about $1.7 million of salary-cap area to be had.
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Pitlick is an eight-season NHL veteran who has performed with 5 groups in the previous 4 seasons. He completed remaining season in Montreal after being traded there from Calgary on the time limit in the Tyler Toffoli business.
“He’s got speed,” mentioned Blues trainer Craig Berube, “ and again, sort of the same type of thing as (Alexei Toropchenko), from a penalty kill standpoint, the speed, the directness, the north hockey. Forechecking — that sort of thing and being physical. That’s his game.”
Pitlick thinks it’s that pace that has stored him in the sport.
“That’s why I’m still around, because I can skate,” he mentioned. “I think that’s the biggest thing and in this league right now is if you can keep skating you can keep playing.”
He mentioned he most certainly couldn’t beat Jordan Kyrou, these days the holder of the name as NHL’s quickest skater, however he can grasp his personal. “He’s got a quick step but I can scoot around there pretty good too,” Pitlick mentioned.
Pitlick, who turns 31 on Nov. 1, confirmed smartly at the beginning of camp and in the team’s early preseason video games, with 4 assists in 3 contests, and was once shifting into competition for a roster spot ahead of an harm derailed that hope. He mentioned he were given harm in the 3rd exhibition recreation, at Chicago, and performed during the harm in the Columbus recreation at Enterprise Center, the place he had two assists.
But after that, the Blues close him down after which launched him, telling him to move house and recover and leaving the door open for his go back.
“I thought that it was trending up,” he mentioned. “I thought each game I got better. The first game, I just kind of tried to get physical and show that I could play that side of the game and I felt like I built plays up as I went along there and was making lots of plays there in that third game and I thought it was going really well and I was fitting with the team and the system and all the guys and everything. I really hope it works out. I think I’d be a good fit and help this team out.”
When the Blues despatched Josh Leivo and Jake Neighbours to Springfield remaining week in order to have compatibility their season-opening roster below the wage cap, the transfer came about solely on paper. The two by no means left Charleston. Pitlick in reality did head back to his house in the Minneapolis space when he was once launched.
“I felt like I could have played through (the injury) and just kept going,” Pitlick mentioned. “I felt like it wasn’t a huge deal but they just didn’t want to deal with something lingering, they said get yourself feeling right and we’ll start this back up.
“They told me to go home and see my family while they were on the trip (to Charleston) and just rehab and skate and do what you can. They thought it’d be more beneficial for me to go home and get treatment rather than go and join the fun and all that stuff. So I went and just focused on my health and getting ready to go and staying in shape.”
With Brown out with what appears to be like to be a left shoulder harm and the Blues in a wait-and-see mode on his go back, the team has just one wholesome spare forward — on Saturday it was once Josh Leivo — as it heads west on Tuesday for video games in Seattle, Edmonton and Winnipeg, all places the place, if any individual were given harm, it might be tough to briefly get a participant there from Springfield, Massachusetts. Also, whilst Nikita Alexandrov made a case for a roster spot in camp, the Blues would reasonably have him getting in AHL video games than staring at a recreation as the thirteenth or 14th forward.
“Gotta have depth in this league, and it’s important,” Berube mentioned.
The Blues have been common customers of the PTO direction, signing Scottie Upshall, Scott Gomez, Martin Havlat, Troy Brouwer and James Neal that method over the last 8 seasons, with Neal signing remaining season. Not all of the ones signings have been good fortune tales — Havlat performed two video games ahead of inquiring for his free up in 2015 — however they have helped the Blues get via tough spots.
St. Louis Blues trainer Craig Berube offers a press convention after the Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, recreation towards the Columbus Blue Jackets. Video courtesy of the St. Louis Blues
