Blues place Nick Leddy on injured reserve with lower-body injury

On Tuesday, the St. Louis Blues announced that defenseman Nick Leddy has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

While it has not been specified when or where Leddy was injured, many believe it happened when he blocked a shot against the Minnesota Wild last Tuesday, right before the Wild scored their third goal of the game. St. Louis went on to lose that night by a score of 4-1.

Since Leddy’s placement on IR was presumably retroactive last Tuesday, the 33-year-old defenseman could return as soon as Thursday night, when the Blues take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It hasn’t been the easiest start for Leddy this season. On what is considered to be the top pair with Colton Parayko, the veteran blueliner struggled through his first four games of the season. The Stanley Cup champion was on the ice for eight of the Blues’ first 14 goals of the season. Leddy had not scored a point prior to the injury, registering a plus/minus of -3 while averaging over 22 minutes of ice time per game.

It is far from the performance Leddy put together last season, where he registered three goals and 28 points in 82 games, his best offensive output in three years. Leddy also posted a +14 rating, his best single-season plus/minus in several seasons.

Leddy is in the third season of his four-year contract that he signed with the Blues in July 2022. The deal carries a cap hit of $4 million through 2025-26.

In 1,015 NHL appearances, including stops with the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings, Leddy has scored 73 goals and 338 assists for 411 points. He has also registered 38 points in 130 postseason games, including winning a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2013.