The Blues finally have Logan Mailloux back in the fold, and now the real headache begins.
St. Louis recalled the defenseman from his conditioning stint with the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL, and he has already joined the team in Nashville.
Mailloux had been sidelined after getting hurt in the final preseason game of the 2026-27 season, with the injury serious enough to require surgery on September 28. His absence has been felt, too.
After a rough first half of last year, Mailloux turned into a key piece of the Blues’ blue line after the Winter Olympics in Milan, and St. Louis has been without that presence for the first month of this season.
Now Jim Montgomery has to figure out who comes out.
The roster math is simple enough. Per PuckPedia, the Blues are carrying 22 of a possible 23 active roster players, so there’s no need to send anyone down just to activate Mailloux from injured reserve.
But on defense, there are only six spots to go around unless Montgomery wants to get weird and roll 11 forwards and seven defensemen. That’s not the expectation.
Against the New Jersey Devils last night, the six defensemen were Philip Broberg, Brandon Carlo, Justin Barron, Colton Parayko, Cam Fowler, and Adam Jiricek. And right away, one name stands out: Jiricek is the waivers-exempt rookie.
He’s been more than serviceable since getting the call. Jiricek didn’t make the opening-night roster, but he was brought up quickly once injuries to Mailloux and Tyler Tucker opened a spot on the back end.
Through 16 games, he has three points, and per Natural Stat Trick he owns the second-best expected goals share among Blues defensemen at 51.84 xGF%. For a 20-year-old, that’s a strong start.
Still, the development piece matters here. Jiricek needs minutes, and he needs plenty of them.
Bouncing in and out of the NHL lineup doesn’t do him many favors, which makes him the cleanest option to come out and head back to Springfield, where he can play top-pair minutes. From a management standpoint, it’s the path of least resistance.
That doesn’t mean it’s the best hockey decision.
Jiricek has also been one of the Blues’ better puck-moving defensemen, so pulling him would hurt the team on the ice. That’s why the more aggressive answer would be to scratch a veteran instead.
Justin Barron has been a huge early-season surprise, piling up nine points in 13 games and posting a 55.24 xGF%, the best mark on the blue line. He’s not going anywhere.
Neither are Parayko or Broberg, who are arguably the team’s top defensemen and important voices in the room.
That leaves Fowler and Carlo. Both have been solid, if unspectacular, and Fowler’s 50.49 xGF% narrowly tops Carlo’s 49.28 xGF%.
Fowler also has a few more points. Handedness could matter here, too, since Carlo is a right-shot defenseman like Mailloux and could be the one bumped from the top pair opposite Broberg.
Even so, the likeliest outcome is still Jiricek heading back to the Thunderbirds, with Carlo or Fowler only becoming a scratch if the Blues decide they want their strongest possible six-man group on the ice.
If Jiricek is the one out, the projected pairs would be Broberg with Parayko, Barron with Carlo, and Fowler with Mailloux to start. That setup may not last long.
If Mailloux looks sharp right away, he could quickly move up the lineup and trade places with Carlo. And if he’s really rolling, there’s even a path to the top pair with Broberg, which would push Parayko down and Carlo further back.
For now, though, the big story is simpler than the pairings: Mailloux is back, and Montgomery has a lineup decision to make.
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Blues Get Logan Mailloux Back At A Crucial Time For Their Blue Line
The Blues have brought Logan Mailloux back into the fold after sending him on a conditioning stint with the Springfield Thunderbirds, a timely boost for a blue line that could use another option. Acquired last season, Mailloux arrives with both NHL and AHL experience, and his return gives St. Louis another defenseman to work into the mix as it tries to settle its back end.
Maillouxs path back has been slowed by the hand injury he picked up in the preseason, and the organization has been careful in getting him back up to speed. With the recall now complete, the next step is seeing how quickly he can translate that recovery into game action and whether he can help steady a defense that has been waiting for him to rejoin it. [Read more 🡒]