The St. Louis Blues made the first significant post-Olympic roster freeze move on Saturday afternoon.
With the NHL on pause for the Olympics, the Blues made a waiver claim that could be hinting at something bigger. St. Louis picked up forward Jack Finley off the waiver wire from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Bolts placed the 23-year-old Finley on the waiver Friday afternoon. He had until Saturday afternoon to clear, but the Blues plucked him before the 3 pm EST deadline.
Now, what precisely that bigger move might be remains to be seen. But the purpose of the waiver claim is clear. The Blues will be making moves and will need bodies to jump into lineup spots.
Blues fans shouldn’t get the impression that Finley is some rando that’s nothing more than an AHL guy trying to make the leap to the NHL. He’s a former second-round pick from the 2020 NHL Draft. He’s got the size at 6’6” and 227 pounds to play the role of power forward.
He’s officially listed as a center, but can also shift to the wing. That’s what makes this waiver claim so interesting. The Blues get a still promising prospect for nothing, with his versatility and size making him a tantalizing option.
My question is, did the Lightning really think they could slip Finley through waivers? Perhaps they thought that with the Olympic break on hand, everyone would fall asleep at the wheel. Well, the Blues clearly didn’t.
As such, this move signals that the Blues will be dealing a forward once rosters unfreeze. It doesn’t really matter who they trade. But there will be roster spots opening up. That’s where Finley jumps into the mix.
Finley isn’t really a top-six option. But there’s a chance he could get some looks on the third line and work his way up. The key thing is to give Finley the chance that he didn’t really get in Tampa.
As per the current NHL rules, Finley won’t be required to report the Blues until February 17. So, there will be some time before Blues fans can get to see the newest team member on the ice.