Magnus Paajarvi has cleared waivers and has been sent to the Chicago Wolves
When a 23 year old forward who has potential to be a middle six forward, hits waivers, they usually don't clear. Matt Fraser (24) was just plucked off of waivers by the Edmonton Oilers just yesterday.
Yet Magnus Paajarvi has cleared waivers and has been sent down to the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League.
Now we could see Doug Armstrong trade Paajarvi later today, much like Nashville did with former Blues forward Derek Roy yesterday. He cleared waivers, was sent down to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, and was later dealt to Edmonton for Marc Arcobello.
Brian Elliott has been activated from the injured reserve and is set to start tonight against the Nashville Predators.
Elliott was injured against the Ottawa Senators on November 25th. Elliott sustained a knee injury that has kept him out of the line up for a month. He's been practicing the last few weeks and has really ramped up the level of the intensity during practice the last few days. He's now ready to get back in the net full time and his return will be a welcomed one.
Jake Allen and Martin Brodeur has been struggling for the most part, since Elliott's departure, so the Elliott's return is a timely return.
Chris Porter, who was injured in last night's game against the Colorado Avalanche, has been placed on IR, and will be re-evaluated in six weeks. My guess, broken ankle.
After watching the replay, Porter's skate got stuck in a rut on the ice and he fell back on top of it. The way his ankle turned, and his reaction to it, it just screams broken ankle. I may be wrong, but that's what it looked like to me.
With Porter out, and Paajarvi headed to Chicago to get some playing time, the Blues may be looking to recall a forward from the AHL to possibly jump into the line up.
I've seen a few Wolves games this season, and I've been talking to a few people who have watched every games this season, and it's looking like Ty Rattie, Phil McRae, and Colin Fraser are all impressing the Blues.
Colin Fraser is playing in a second/third line role for the Wolves, and is providing some offense, defense, and grit to the Wolves middle six.
Fraser has plenty of NHL experience, and was a staple on the L.A. Kings fourth line during their first Stanley Cup win. He's got the experience, and the Blues might want to add that to their club right now.
Phil McRae, who returned from Europe this season, has looked excellent for the Wolves this year. His defense is strong, and he's producing offensively, something he's struggled to do in the AHL before this season.
A few years back, it looked like McRae could potentially jump in and be a center on the fourth line, but got injured and his game went down hill. He's back, and he's looking to make it back to the National Hockey League.
Lastly we look at Ty Rattie. The scouting report on Rattie, is that the kid loves to shoot the puck. He leads the American Hockey League with 15 goals on the season, and he shoots from anywhere. He's firing the puck a lot, and it's resulting in goals. For the second straight season, he's proving he can score goals at the professional level. Maybe it's time to find out if he can score goals at the NHL level.