NHL teams must submit their opening night rosters for the 2024-25 season by the deadline, and the St. Louis Blues have decided to go with 12 forwards and 8 defensemen, totaling 23 players.
As they prepare to face the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., the Blues are currently carrying two extra defensemen: Scott Perunovich and P.O. Joseph. They also had to assign forward Zack Bolduc to the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL to comply with salary cap regulations, meaning they will start the season with 22 skaters.
Brandon Saad, who is on paternity leave following the birth of his third child, is not counted on the opening night roster but does impact the salary cap. He is expected to return after the team’s next game.
Bolduc, the 17th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, began training camp in the top six but struggled towards the end and was not included in the top 12 during the last exhibition game against the Dallas Stars. When Saad returns, Kapanen, who has been playing on the third line with Schenn and Joseph, may be shifted to a fourth-line role or become a healthy scratch.
Additionally, Oskar Sundqvist is starting the season on injured reserve while recovering from an ACL tear. The Blues will need to adjust their roster once he returns.
It will be interesting to see if they keep both Perunovich and Joseph or if one will be placed on waivers, as they currently plan to keep two extra defensemen for now.
To meet the roster limit, defensemen Tyler Tucker and Corey Schueneman were assigned to Springfield, while Sundqvist, Torey Krug (ankle), Adam Jiricek (knee), and Simon Robertsson (upper body) are on the injured/non-roster list.
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