St. Louis Blues: Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to Have Surgery

Alex Pietrangelo, arguably the most vital player for the St. Louis Blues on the blue line, has elected to have surgery on a lower-body injury, according to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. But relax Blues fans, the surgery has been deemed minor.

The extent of what the injury is has yet to been seen. It could be an extension of the Dwight King hit on Pietrangelo in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Kings, which caused him to miss Game 2.

But to have the surgery now, after months of down time and time to work out, would be curious timing for Pietrangelo. Why not just have it right after the playoffs, recover and then still be back in time for the season?

It would make more sense that Pietrangelo injured himself while doing offseason workouts. Then with the current labor disagreement, he may have elected to take the surgery while there is still enough time. But regardless of if the season starts on time or not, Pietrangelo is expected to be ready for training camp, which opens on September 21. 

Pietrangelo was the third-highest scorer on the Blues last season with 51 points in 81 games. He trailed leading scorers David Backes and T.J. Oshie by only three points, and he is the highest-scoring defenseman on the team.

Pietrangelo is already one of the best young defensemen in the league, and if there is a season, he should be a contender for the Norris Trophy. This latest surgery does not look like it will change any of that.