No real surprises.
Some good news for Blues fans: Hannu Toivonen beat out Jason Bacashihua for the backup goaltender spot, and
Matt Walker beat out
Jeff Woywitka for the #7 defenseman spot.
Bacashihua and Woywitka both have to clear waivers....
I'm really happy with both of those. Bacashihua is way too inconsistent, and he just doesn't deserve to be in this league. And the Blues love
Matt Walker's toughness that he brings, so it's good to know that he has a safe spot on the team.
Our roster now stands at 32 players. Here a list of who's left:
Forwards:
Paul Kariya,
Martin Rucinsky,
Lee Stempniak,
D.J. King, Chris Porter,
Keith Tkachuk,
Jay McClement,
Doug Weight, Petr Cajanek,
Ryan Johnson,
Trent Whitfield,
Yan Stastny,
Brad Boyes, Martin Kariya, David Perron,
Jamal Mayers,
Dan Hinote,
David Backes,
Mike Glumac.
Defensemen:
Christian Backman,
Eric Brewer, Barrett Jackman,
Matt Walker,
Jay McKee, Erik Johnson,
Bryce Salvador,
David Tanabe, Steve Wagner, Roman Polak
Goalies:
Manny Legace, Hannu Toivonen
And, the roster has to be reduced to 23 to start the season. Here are my predictions for the final cuts:
Forwards:
Chris Porter,
Trent Whitfield,
Yan Stastny,
Mike Glumac, Martin Kariya, David Perron
Defensemen:
David Tanabe, Steve Wagner, Roman Polak
Which leaves this as our final roster for opening night:
Paul Kariya -
Keith Tkachuk -
Brad Boyes
Petr Cajanek -
Doug Weight -
Martin Rucinsky
David Backes -
Jay McClement -
Lee Stempniak
D.J. King -
Dan Hinote -
Jamal Mayers
Ryan Johnson
Eric Brewer -
Bryce Salvador
Barrett Jackman - Erik Johnson
Jay McKee - Christian Backman
Matt Walker
Legace
Toivonen