In case you missed it for whatever reason, Patrik Berglund has injured his shoulder again and should be out for at least four months, This has led to some speculation about who will play in his spot. Will it be Ty Rattie? Robby Fabbri? Current 13th forward Magnus Paajarvi? Scott Gomez (!)? Scotty Upshall (no)?
The point to the speculation should be who could work best with the linemates that Berglund has the highest odds of playing with.
Here is what I wrote on Berglund's replacement:
What does this mean? It more than likely means that Magnus Paajarvi might see some more playing time than expected, or Ty Rattie will get a longer look this year. A third-line role may be more suited to Umlaaut than Rattie, and as of right now it's not set in stone who will be centering that line. I'm not sure how much Rattie would mesh with Troy Brouwer; then again I'm also unsure how much Paajarvi will too.
Notice that I mentioned one Mr. Troy Brouwer, who has the potential to be the third line's center as Backes will probably move to wing and Stastny will move up to a top-six role. Jeff Gordon's recent piece on Bergie's injury mentioned Brouwer's potential impact ofsetting the loss.
So, if I can take Brouwer into consideration, why does he seem to be missing from so many pieces? Jared Clinton's recent piece on THN completely blew over considering him in any way a part of who replaces Berglund. Here is another, advocating for Fabbri to take on Berglund's third-line role. There have been a few other stories here and there that I don't have the time to rummage up (when I do I shall add them).
Basically, the question here is this: why do people forget about Brouwer? I realize he's the new guy, but he is one that A) played well in DC on the power play (albeit with Ovechkin) and b) will be a solid third line center. Will he be the reason the Blues win a Cup if they do? Nah, but he certainly will make an impact on the players around him. Looking at who is best suited to play with Brouwer is just as important as looking at who you want to replace Berglund.