The St. Louis Blues have had a rough start to the 2025-26 season. One of the various problems the team has faced is stability at the defensive position, especially on the third pairing. The answer to the Blues’ defensive stability question can be found in the American Hockey League (AHL), in the newly acquired Calle Rosen.
Blues’ Defensive Stability Problems
The third pairing has struggled this season. Tyler Tucker, Logan Mailloux, Matthew Kessel, and Hunter Skinner have spent time there, and aside from Skinner, who has only played one game, the others have struggled.
- Tucker – 18 games played, four points, minus-1, 12:33 average time on ice (ATOI)
- Mailloux – nine games played, zero points, minus-12, 12:33 ATOI
- Kessel – ten games played, one point, plus-1, 11:14 ATOI
Aside from the few points and poor plus/minus rating, a stat that stands out is the ice time. Each player has averaged less than 13 minutes of ice time. The reason for this is their individual struggles; they have not earned the trust of head coach Jim Montgomery to earn additional ice time. However, a problem arises from this lack of stability.
The ice time that these defensemen are not getting is ice time that the rest of the defensive core has to make up for. Colton Parayko, Philip Broberg, Cam Fowler, and Justin Faulk have had to pick up the slack.
Veteran Defenseman Gave Stability Last Season
A hot topic this season so far has been whether or not the Blues should have traded young forward Zachary Bolduc. Bolduc has been missed on this team, for sure, but there is someone else who is missed as well. That person is veteran defenseman Ryan Suter.
Related: Blues Should Have Never Traded Bolduc to the Canadiens
Suter signed with the Blues in the summer of 2024 to provide additional defensive depth. He did just that. Playing in all 82 regular-season games with the Blues, he averaged 19:28 of ice time. Was he an offensive threat? No. Did he struggle sometimes? Yes. However, he provided stability for the Blues’ defense, allowing the core defensemen to play regular minutes.
To put this into perspective, Parayko is the only defenseman whose ATOI this season is more than it was last season. Suter provided the Blues stability, which was precisely what they needed from him.
Now, the Blues need stability, and the newly acquired Rosen can provide it.
Rosen Can Provide Stability
The Blues re-acquired Rosen on Nov. 3 from the Washington Capitals. Rosen had played for the Blues between 2021 and 2024, playing in 73 games. The 31-year-old was a dependable defenseman for the Blues, especially during the 2022-23 season, when he averaged just over 15 minutes of ice time a game.
Rosen moves the puck well and has been able to hold his own in the defensive zone. He is not a spectacular player by any means, but he is dependable. He can provide the stability the Blues need.
Suter averaged just over 19 minutes last season with the Blues. Rosen would only need to average a few more minutes from his 2022-23 average to match Suter’s stability.
Defensive Pairing Options with Rosen
If the Blues called up Rosen, they would need to send a player down to their AHL affiliate. Tucker would have to clear waivers, so the Blues would likely send down Kessel or Skinner.
Rosen would join the third pairing, taking one of the two spots. This would leave the other spot between Tucker and Kessel/Skinner. Whoever plays alongside Rosen would benefit from playing with a veteran instead of another young player, which has not been the case previously. Montgomery could rotate which defenseman plays with Rosen, allowing each to play with the veteran.
Checking Boxes
Calling up Rosen would check a lot of boxes for the Blues. They would add a defenseman who can provide needed stability at the position. Furthermore, they would be adding someone who can play alongside younger defensemen, allowing them to develop their game.
The Blues re-acquired Rosen for a reason. Why not call him up and see what happens?
