The St. Louis Blues have been dealt a considerable blow with the NHL Trade Deadline less than 24 hours away.
General manager Doug Armstrong has announced that defenseman Colton Parayko is undergoing a scope in his knee after he was hurt on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Kings. He will be re-evaluated in six weeks, meaning that he’ll likely miss the rest of the regular season.
Armstrong now has several key decisions to make for the Blues by 3:00 PM on Friday afternoon.
With 15 goals and 20 assists, Parayko had been enjoying a career year in terms of offensive output and was leading the team with an average of nearly 24 minutes of playing time.
The Blues will return to the ice in southern California on Friday night against the Anaheim Ducks; puck drop is scheduled for 10:00 PM EST.
Blues’ Colton Parayko is a franchise lifer to this point
In 62 games, Parayko had already tied his previous career-high output of 35 points.
His absence represents a massive blow to the postseason chances for the Blues. They are in fifth place in the Central Division and currently two points outside of the last Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
Selected with the 86th overall pick by the Blues in the 2012 NHL Draft, Parayko has played his entire NHL career with the team. His first full year in the NHL was the 2015-16 NHL season, when he appeared in 79 games, scoring nine goals with 24 assists.
He would later help the Blues win the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history in 2019. He scored two goals with 10 assists in 26 postseason games during the 2019 playoffs during their run to the Cup.
He’s also represented Canada multiple times on the international stage, including at the recently completed 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in which he helped them win the tournament title.
The Blues defenseman has played in 721 career NHL games, scoring 76 goals with 218 assists. He’s also added 10 goals with 22 assists in 82 career postseason games.
The post Blues hit with abysmal Colton Parayko injury update amid playoff chase appeared first on ClutchPoints.
