Is the Dmitrij Jaskin era over in St. Louis? (Updated: Yes.)

Updated 10/2/18, 12:26 PM: Yes, yes the Jaskin era is over. He was claimed off of waivers by the Washington Capitals.

Are Dmitrij Jaskin and Chris Thorburn’s tenures with the Blues over? Signs point to yes.

In a move to further trim the roster down before opining night, and to the surprise of exactly no one, NHL journeyman Chris Thorburn was placed on waivers. Thorburn has been with the Blues for a season, mainly to supply grit that had been lacking since the departure of Ryan Reaves. With the addition of Pat Maroon, Thorburn’s been rendered redundant. He’s a fantastic locker room guy and is always more than willing to hop in to a scrum to defend teammates, but he contributes nearly no offense at this point in his career.

Mildly more surprising was the waiving of Dmitrij Jaskin. He has 25 goals and 36 assists in 266 regular season games and scored twice during the pre-season. If the Blues have an opportunity to replace the 25 year old with a younger player who has more offensive upside, then they’re going to do that. Apparently they are taking a longer look at Sammy Blais this season, and Jaskin’s going down (or will be claimed) to make room for him.

Whether either player will be claimed is a mystery. Thorburn was waived last season and went unclaimed, returning to the Blues. Jaskin, though, is significantly more likely to be claimed. He’s an NHL caliber forward who fits on a third or fourth line, and if he can be gotten for free another team will jump on that opportunity.