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Michalek's Enhanced Stats

A quick look at some of the numbers behind the St. Louis Blues' newest defensemen Zbynek Michalek.

Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Zbynek Michalek is a defense who plays "shut down" minutes with a positive SAT (or corsi).  Here is Arizona's player usage chart showing Michalek's on ice usage.

blues new defenseman

Michalek is second in corsi for percentage (51.8%) and one of three Coyote defensemen that are above 50%.  He and the rest of the Coyote defense have sub 1000 PDO.  He only generates .5 points per 60 minutes of 5v5 ice time and only 2 goals total so far this season.  If the Blues were looking for a potential Shattenkirk replacement while he recuperates, I don't think this is it.  But are the Blues missing a shut down defenseman right now?  They sure are and Michalek could fit that need.  The big asterisk to all these stats those is that these are pre-concussion which has sidelined him since February 14th.  Armstrong is definitely taking a gamble considering he already had a defenseman out with an injury and now he picked up one that has a concussion.  Not a big bold trade, but definitely risky.  However, if Michalek returns to his pre-concussion level of play it could pay off for the Blues.