ST. LOUIS _ General manager Doug Armstrong built a Stanley Cup champion based on strength in numbers. Now that depth will be tested over the long haul as the Blues prepare to finish out the regular season without Vladimir Tarasenko.
"Obviously he's a top player in our game," Armstrong said. "He's gonna be missed. But our team is built as the sum of all the parts. It's gonna be a great opportunity for some of our younger players."
Tarasenko underwent surgery on his left shoulder Tuesday morning, with Blues physicians Matt Matava, Matthew Smith and Robert Brophy _ all of Washington University Orthopedics _ performing the procedure. Tarasenko was out of surgery and in recovery by the time Armstrong met with reporters late Tuesday morning.
On April 11, 2018, Tarasenko underwent reconstructive surgery on the same shoulder. As of what transpired with Tuesday's surgery, Armstrong said: "I don't think it was a reconstruct. It was just a dislocated shoulder that was repaired. I'm not a doctor to get in all the medical terms."
Armstrong also said he would defer to Tarasenko in terms of how much detail Tarasenko wanted to get into on the nature of the surgery. He said Tarasenko would be made available to the media following the team's upcoming road trip through western Canada.
"I think the key for our group now is not taxing a small group of players," Armstrong said. "I don't think we can have (Ryan) O'Reilly and (Brayden) Schenn and (Jaden) Schwartz consume all this ice time. It's gonna have to come from other guys and we're gonna have to strength in numbers. And I believe that we can get it done."
Foremost on that list of other guys will be players such as Sammy Blais, Robert Thomas, Robby Fabbri and Zach Sanford. Fabbri and Sanford in particular have had their ups and downs so far this season, including several games as a healthy scratch.
This is their opportunity for more ice time.
"I thought Blais came in and grabbed the job and pushed people out of the way," Armstrong said. "You love to see guys come in and assume a position and fight that internal competition off and separate themselves. Sammy did that in training camp.
"He put himself a letter grade ahead of the guys you're asking about (Sanford and Fabbri). Now opportunity's arisen for these guys to come back in and fight and get that ice time.
"You need probably 13, 14, 15 minutes (to help compensate for Tarasenko's absence). And these guys are playing 9, 10. They got to find a way to get the coach to believe that they can assume those extra three or four minutes. And that's their jobs."
Armstrong said the team would not call up a replacement player from San Antonio for Wednesday's home game against the Minnesota Wild. But that could change this weekend, when the Blues play a back-to-back against Columbus at home and at Minnesota on the road, and then play at Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.
If there's a San Antonio callup, the most likely candidates are Klim Kostin or Nathan Walker. Jordan Kyrou's rehab and recovery process from kneecap surgery last spring is nearly over _ Armstrong said he could be in the Rampage lineup as early as Wednesday. But it will be a while before he's in consideration for a spot on the Blues' roster.
By placing Tarasenko on the long-term injured reserve list, the Blues free up about $7.35 million in cap space. But should Tarasenko return at some point this season, and Armstrong isn't ruling that out, they would then have to become cap compliant. In other words, that $7.35 million would have to count against the cap at that point.
So any kind of trade, or even free-agent pickup, is back burner for now.
"Yeah," Armstrong agreed. "Players have been pining to the coach, pining to the (general) manager for more ice time. They're gonna get that opportunity.
"We have guys down playing well in the American Hockey League. Our depth will come from within right now. _ if they can get that job done. If we feel that we don't have the ability to perform at the level we deem necessary, we can always look outside."
