When the Blues brought in Brandon Carlo this summer, the move set off plenty of head-scratching. Not because of the price tag, but because of the role he was expected to play.
This wasn’t really about adding a long-term fixture to the blue line. It was about protection.
St. Louis wanted a veteran who could help shield young defensemen like Logan Mailloux and Theo Lindstein, giving them a steadier runway instead of throwing them into the deep end.
The connection to Jim Montgomery was obvious from the start. Carlo was one of Montgomery’s most trusted players with the Boston Bruins, so there was already a built-in familiarity there. But Blues insider Jeremy Rutherford pointed to a bigger reason for the trade during a recent appearance on The Athletic’s Hockey Show: the organization’s need to better support its prospects.
Rutherford noted that the Blues did not do that well with Mailloux at the start of last season. He pointed specifically to the pairing of Mailloux and Tyler Tucker, which left the 23-year-old defenseman exposed early on. That, Rutherford said, was a major reason for Mailloux’s rough beginning.
The contrast came when Tucker was sheltered with Ryan Suter. That setup gave Tucker a veteran presence beside him, and the confidence followed. Carlo is supposed to serve that same purpose now.
Mailloux eventually turned things around late in the season and showed what he could bring, which helped lock in his place and gave St. Louis another encouraging defenseman to build around. But the bigger target with Carlo, according to the reporting, is Lindstein.
With Carlo in the mix, Montgomery can lean on a defenseman he trusts without having to overthink every shift. That only matters, of course, if Carlo is fully healthy this season.
It also fills a need the Blues didn’t really have last year, especially after the club traded Justin Faulk to the Detroit Red Wings. Carlo’s arrival should ease the burden on Mailloux and offer cover for Lindstein, who is 21.
A pairing of Carlo and Lindstein would make a lot of sense on paper. It would let Lindstein play his game without every mistake being magnified.
If that plan holds, the Blues could end up with one of the stronger blue lines in the Western Conference.
There’s still work ahead, but the pieces are there. St.
Louis has Philip Broberg at 25, along with Mailloux and Lindstein entering prime development years. And if Carlo, Cam Fowler, and Colton Parayko can each deliver solid seasons, the Blues may wind up surprising a lot of people.
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