With all the injuries in St. Louis, who will benefit from the opportunity?

What would you do if you were told that one of your top nine forwards had to have shoulder surgery and be out until December? You would most likely hate it but understand that it is all part of the game and take it in stride. A young forward will get an opportunity to show you what he is made of.

Then that young player gets concussed. You do not want to rush him back because he is part of your long-term plan and players are not robots. With what we are learning about head injuries, there is a duty to make sure you do not jeopardize his future living after hockey fades away.

Again, you do not like it but that is how things go at times. You have enough depth to ride it out.

Out of nowhere, you have another top-six forward break his foot. Oh crap! Tack on five more weeks on the injured reserve list.

Barely able to catch your breath, a top two defenseman is dealing with a lower body issue. Well at least that seems to be more of a week-to-week or day-to-day injury. For now…

If all that was not enough to deal with, you find out one of your top guys gets hurt during practice. Busted ankle and is out for at least 12 weeks. Sigh. At least he did not strain it. That would have been the worst case scenario. Even so, 12 weeks of the season is a lot.

This is what is happening to the St. Louis Blues right now. Out are Patrik Berglund, Robby Fabbri, Paul Stastny, Kevin Shattenkirk and most recently Jaden Schwartz. The Blue Cross operator’s number has been permanently placed on speed dial.

As buffa82 of SB Nation writes, “Injuries. Can’t predict them. Can’t prevent them. Can’t contain them.”

Injuries are unpredictable, that is true. I am not so sure what is meant by that they cannot be contained. My impression is that the author implies that they are some sort of transferable occurrence, like a hex. Sometimes it does feel that way.

As for, them not being preventable there is a degree of that thought that is false. Yes, while injuries can happen anywhere at in some freakish manners, applying preventative measure can help reduce the severity and length of an injury.

The Colorado Avalanche believe that they can prevent things like broken feet by having their player wear skate guards. If we were to ask Stastny if he would wear one now, would he? How about Hitchcock?

But back to the Blues and their ill fortune.

📢 advertisement:

Columnists Jeremy Rutherford and Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, detail the Schwartz injury and gets quotes from Hitchcock about the team outlook.

“Long-term, if I was a player that was a three- or four-year player now, especially guys like (Dmitrij) Jaskin or (Ty) Rattie… these types of players, I would look at this as an unbelievable opportunity because they’re going to absorb Jaden’s minutes” says Hitchcock.

It does not sound like there is any panic, so why did Rutherford tweet, “My guess is that the Blues will now be further inclined to deal from their defensive depth and find some help up front”?

In another article from the Post-Dispatch, Jeff Gordon writes about how the Blues are prepared to handle adversity with Scottie Upshall, Scott Gomez, Ty Rattie and Fabbri.

I do not believe that Upshall or Gomez will be nothing but short-term fixes. They might be worth a look on a day-to-day basis.

Fabbri will get his chances when he recovers from the concussion. That I am certain of.

The wild card will be Rattie since he did not make the initial roster out of camp. As Gordon indicates, “Like Schwartz and Fabbri, Rattie is a small forward who plays big on the puck and works well with other skilled players.”

Hitchcock adds, “There is a high level of trust in the coaching staff, mostly because he is so good on the board. For a skilled guy, he does the right stuff on the boards all the time.”

If you fantasy roster is in need of help, you should consider giving Rattie a shot while Fabbri and the others are out of the lineup.

A good showing from him now might not keep him around when the injuries have healed, but it would mean that the Blues will not need to acquire players like Upshall and Gomez via professional tryouts next season. If your rules allow it, stash Rattie on your prospects list or bench.

The Schwartz will be with him. I can feel it.