Tucker Is Out, Carlo Is Waiting, and the Blues Open Anyway

Tyler Tucker tweaked his knee in practice on September 21 and won't be a quick turnaround, per coach Jim Montgomery. That puts him alongside Brandon Carlo, who was brought in from Toronto specifically to add size and experience to this blue line and still has no clear return date, and prospect Matthew Mayich, whose situation remains far more serious than a hockey injury. Three defensemen, none of them available when the games start counting.

What's left is the group I noted when the roster was finalized: Philip Broberg and Cam Fowler carrying the top pairing minutes, Logan Mailloux behind them. Fowler said publicly he felt he let people down last season, and he's motivated to prove otherwise — that's something, at least. But motivation doesn't change the math. Adam Jiricek, who was sharp in the preseason win over Chicago, got sent to Springfield anyway. The Blues set their 23-man roster and moved on.

The angle here hasn't changed much since I wrote about it earlier this week. St. Louis spent the offseason rebuilding up front — McMichael, McTavish, Dube — and the defensive depth was already thin before any of this happened. Tucker's knee is just the latest confirmation that this blue line is going to be tested early, probably harder than the coaching staff would like.