Robert Bortuzzo's Injury Couldn't Have Come At A Worse Time

You never want to see a player go down with an injury. Much less a player who does "all the little things" in the handful of games given to him. When Bortuzzo left early in the game against Detroit Thursday night it didn't look good. Miss timing a hit he seemed to tweak his leg. Though timetable doesn't seem all that serious, he's scheduled to be revaluated by the end of the week.

But for a player like Bortuzzo, to gain any sort of footing in the Blues lineup, he needs as many games as possible.

Not one to bring many points, only three points in 40 regular season games last season. This season Bortuzzo has suited up for just four games. While he doesn't have any points to his name just yet, the intensity hasn't slowed down. The player often called "Bobby" has never been a top tier defensemen but instead a solid supporting piece in the Blues very strong defensive core.

One of the first to stand up for his teammates and always willing to block shots, it's those qualities that make Bortuzzo a favorite with not only the fans but the locker room as well. While not often credited for it his puck handling skills are above average for a sixth defensemen. But while those perks are welcomed currently the face of the Blues "blue line" will be changing very soon. I'm not even including the Kevin Shattenkirk trade speculation. When you take a look down the pipeline, there are more then a few defensemen waiting for an opportunity.

Quite frankly Bortuzzo may have gotten "lucky" with the timing of his current knock. As both leading defensive prospects in Jordan Schmaltz and Petteri Lindbohm are also out with injuries of their own. Schmaltz in fact has yet to play a game this season.

The fact of the matter is Robert Bortuzzo is in the final year of his current deal, at 27 he's a UFA. Do the Blues see him in their future plans? Possibly, but his chances when healthy are few and far between. There were even occasions last season when Bortuzzo would be the healthy scratch for five to six games at a time. It didn't affect his overall play and likely this injury won't either. But for Bortuzzo to keep wearing the blue note, health needs to be on his side from this point on.