Blues lose Svatos

According to Darren Pang on Twitter (Panger40), Nashville have claimed Marek Svatos off waivers from St Louis.

The Blues obviously knew that this could happen but were willing to take the chance. Well…it was nice knowing you in that short time, Marek Svatos, but as you will now play for a Division rival, I’m sure you’ll forgive us for not wishing you TOO well.

Blues sign Marek Svatos

The Blues have announced that they have signed former Colorado Avalanche forward, Marek Svatos, to a one year deal. Svatos was playing in the KHL until recently.

Although he will practise with the team today, Svatos will not be eligible to play until Friday. He also has to clear waivers first.

Here’s the full press release from the Blues Official Site:

St. Louis Blues Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced Tuesday the club has signed free agent forward Marek Svatos (MAIR-ehk, SVA-tohs) to a one-year contract.

Svatos, 28, has made 19 appearances with the Kontinental Hockey League’s (KHL) Omsk Avangard this season recording eight points including three goals and five assists.

In 2009-10, the 5’10, 185-pound forward tallied seven goals and four assists for 11 points in 54 regular season games with the Colorado Avalanche as well as a goal and two penalty minutes in three playoff outings.

For his career, Svatos has dressed in 316 NHL games, all with Colorado, accumulating 164 points including 96 goals and 68 assists.

The Kosice, Slovakia native was originally drafted by Colorado in the seventh round, 227th overall, of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

He will wear number 40.

Roman Polak Activated From IR

Roman Polak has today been activated from IR and will play against the Canucks on Monday. Ian Cole has been assigned to Peoria. Polak, who had surgery to repair a severed tendon in his right wrist, has been skating and practising with the team for the last couple of weeks.

Ian Cole has played extremely well since his callup from Peoria – and it’s unlikely to be the last we see of him this season.

Brad Boyes – A Riddle Wrapped In A Mystery Inside An Enigma

Yes, I know the above quote from Winston Churchill referred to the Russians, but it also seems to fit Brad Boyes. There are not many players who are as much of a riddle, mystery and enigma than Brad Boyes. With a poor season last year and the Blues in the midst of an offensive injury “crisis”, the time is perfect for Brad Boyes to step up and show what he’s made of. Worryingly, Boyes has all but disappeared on the ice. The Blues are Boyes’ 4th NHL team and he’s 28 years old – so, is there a pattern here?

Boyes was drafted in the first round, 24th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2000 Entry Draft. Boyes spent time with the Erie Otters in the OHL and St John’s Maple Leafs in the AHL – registering 23 goals and 28 assists in his first AHL season before being traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the San Jose Sharks in 2003, along with Alyn McCauley and a first round draft pick in 2003 for Owen Nolan. Boyes played one NHL game for the Sharks, spending the rest of his time in the AHL with the Cleveland Barons.

Updates…

Great win for the Blues last night – and more importantly, no more injuries to report.

• In case you missed it, the Blues have confirmed that Erik Johnson is suffering from a slight knee sprain. Johnson, was in fact, on the ice this morning along with Alex Pietrangelo and Roman Polak.
• Vladimir Tarasenko will join Team Russia at the World Juniors and Sebastian Wannstrom will join Team Sweden.
• Adam Cracknell has been assigned to Peoria.
• A great interview with Cam Janssen prior to the game against the Kings where he talks about playing for his hometown team, Keith Tkachuk’s retirement, the addition of Jaroslav Halak and much more.  The interview can be found at MayorsManor.Com
• There’s also a neat wordpress site that features doodles from each Blues game – funny stuff – definitely worth checking out.  Go to 90-Pound Doodles

Injured warriors…

It never rains but it pours. With all the injuries the Blues have suffered, Erik Johnson left the game last night in the first 10 minutes. Johnson got somewhat tangled with Datsyuk and limped off the ice. The good news is that he got off the ice under his own power – the bad is that he didn’t return; will be evaluated further today and is definitely out of tonight’s game against the Kings.

So, the state of play injury-wise is currently:

David Perron – Concussion – no timetable for his return.

Andy McDonald – Concussion – no timetable for his return.

Roman Polak – Wrist surgery – skating and will be evaluated in January.

TJ Oshie – Broken Ankle – will be evaluated in February.

Erik Johnson – Knee – status unknown but will definitely miss tonight’s game.

Alex Pietrangelo – Shoulder – should be day to day and was on the ice at practise today.

Nikita Nikitin has been recalled from Peoria and Andy McDonald has been placed on IR retroactive to 4 December. Despite being hit by errant pucks last night, David Backes and Vladimir Sobotka should both be in the lineup tonight.

Apologies for the lack of recent updates – real life has intruded somewhat.