Earlier in the week, when Brandon Saad was placed on waivers, St. Louis Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong indicated he didn’t have any plans to recall a forward from the Springfield Thunderbirds to take his spot.
Instead, he said he wants to see Alexandre Texier get more of an opportunity.
“Our pro scouts saw something in Texier and now I’d like to see what they saw and give him an opportunity,” Armstrong said. “If I want to see Texier play, the less options the coach has [with call-ups from Springfield], the more likely he’s going to play.”
Texier has been a healthy scratch for eight of his last nine games. This season, he has contributed three goals and five assists in 24 games.
On Friday morning, Texier was skating on the first line alongside Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich, so he will certainly get a good opportunity when the Blues begin a two-game road trip against the Colorado Avalanche (8 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network, 101 ESPN).
“Play with pace, play with purpose, make plays and stay connected with the other two,” Blues Head Coach Jim Montgomery said of what he’d like to see from Texier on the first line.
With Saad no longer in the organization, Montgomery has some line shuffling to do.
Based on the morning skate, expect Nathan Walker to center the third line with Jake Neighbours and Zack Bolduc, while Radek Faksa appears to be centering Alexey Toropchenko and Mathieu Joseph.
Joel Hofer looks likely to get the start against the Avalanche.
