Welcome back, Jaden Schwartz, and goodbye Magnus Paajarvi?

Get your shit and get out, Magnus Paajarvi!

Okay, that’s no way to speak to someone so fast, but let’s be honest with each other: it was time.

This morning at the St. Louis Blues skate, Jaden Schwartz informed Blues reporter Lou Korac that he was good to go. His return would in turn place Paajarvi on waivers.

Will someone claim him? Are biscuits always soft and warm? Both solid questions that hopefully end with a yes.

What does the return of Schwartz mean to the Blues? Have you seen this team lately? They were celebrated like soldiers coming home from war with a win over the Ottawa “who” Senators on Tuesday. They only needed one goalie, Vladimir Sobotka, and Mr. Anderson in net to grab a win and stay away from the wildcard hounds.

Schwartz is the kind of high energy talent that makes an entire team better. Alex Steen and Patrik Berglund can run and hide easier now on different lines, and Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko will benefit from Schwartz’s ice smarts, which will lead to more goals. The Blues badly need more goal output for their goaltender drama.

When I think of the Schwartz effect, I think of Marshall Faulk’s ability to transcend the Rams offense back in 1999-2001. He seemed to read players and plays before they actually happened. As Game Time paper captain Brad Lee stated in today’s edition, “(Schwartz’s) hockey IQ helps him anticipate where the puck is going, where the open spaces will be, and the best places on the ice he needs to go.” Basically, he’s Marshall Faulk, even the same height.

Placing him between Schenn and Tarasenko will create a dominant line for opposing teams to worry about, thus making the second and third lines find more space on the ice. Remember October and November when the first line would wear the other team’s top defensive guys down so much that the defensemen starting scoring a bunch? Maybe that returns tonight.

The Colorado Avalanche have four less points than the Blues (with a better goal differential) in three less games, so they can walk into Scottrade tonight and cause havoc just like the Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes did this month. Take them lightly, and your General Manager may talk about you like you’re a problematic child who can’t wipe his ass correctly on local talk radio again.

With Schwartz’s return reestablishing order to the roster, Doug Armstrong will get a fair look at this team and what needs to be done before the trade deadline. If you can’t figure out what a team is or isn’t inside a month, retire your office and go open a coffee shop. We will see what the Blues are made of. Hard practices, locker room accountability, and socially influencing a hockey team are fine political agendas for players and coaches, but they mean little in the standings.

Oh, and by the way, beating Colorado is beating Stan Kroenke.

Welcome back, Jaden. Screw off, Magnus. Your paltry four points in 44 games will be missed like people miss having the flu. Your 37 points in 189 games in St. Louis is laughable and being 27 in April doesn’t help. Get claimed, run free, and seek success elsewhere.

Go Blues and drink more bourbon,

DLB