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Tyler Bozak will be back in the line-up tonight against the Los Angeles Kings, and Jacob de la Rose is also ready to go if needed. With Bozak’s return, now’s a good time for some salary cap management:
#stlblues get Tyler Bozak back tonight; he has been activated from LTIR and to make room for him, Colton Parayko has been moved from IR to LTIR, which isn't a shock at this point. Jacob de la Rose is available to go, but looks like Dakota Joshua will stay in, at least for now.
— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) March 17, 2021
This shouldn’t be shocking. Parayko has been out since February 18th game against the San Jose Sharks with a back injury, and there has been speculation that he played through it before that date. Despite reports of progress, and Parayko skating, it still doesn’t appear that the defenseman will be ready to return to the line-up any time soon.
Parayko’s move to the LTIR frees up salary space to the tune of $5.5 million. With Bozak’s return tonight and Schwartz’s probable return on Friday, this’ll help keep the Blues cap compliant. While that’s a silver lining, the Blues defense has continued to look adrift without their star defenseman. Parayko getting his back in working order is a priority for the team regardless of how the defense is playing, but one can’t help but think that it’s even more of a priority as the Blues start the back half of the season in fourth place in the West Division.