ST. LOUIS — Blues defenseman Logan Mailloux underwent surgery on his right hand Sunday and will be reevaluated in eight weeks, leaving St. Louis without a young member of its blue line as the regular season begins.
The club placed Mailloux on injured reserve Monday. The eight-week period is a medical checkpoint, rather than a confirmed return date, and the team has not announced when he will be cleared to play.
Mailloux was injured during Saturday’s preseason finale against the Chicago Blackhawks. He fought Cole Smith in the first period after a play involving teammate Philip Broberg and did not return for the second period. Surgery followed the next day.
The Blues are also without Tyler Tucker, who is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Losing two defensemen before opening night has already led to changes in the available group.
St. Louis recalled Adam Jiricek from Springfield on Sunday and claimed Justin Barron off waivers from Nashville. Barron is a right-handed shot, giving the organization another option on the side Mailloux normally occupies.
General manager Alexander Steen explained the move in terms of balancing the club’s depth. The Blues had options on the left side and wanted more support on the right after bringing Jiricek up.
Mailloux, 23, scored five goals and added eight assists in 67 games last season, averaging 16 minutes, 46 seconds of ice time. It was his first full NHL season and his first with St. Louis after the trade that sent Zachary Bolduc to Montreal in July 2025.
The injury interrupts his opportunity to build on that workload. It also means the Blues must establish their early defensive combinations without him or Tucker, while the recent additions become part of the immediate selection picture.
St. Louis opens Friday in Dallas and visits Colorado on Saturday. Those consecutive road games provide the first test of the defensive depth assembled during the final days of training camp.
Sources: Mailloux; Mailloux Detail; Mailloux Team.
