ST. LOUIS -- The cupboard is beginning to thin a bit among the forward group for the Blues, so they dug into the professional tryout method to help alleviate some ails.
The team placed Pavel Buchnevich on injured reserve with a lower-body injury; the forward hasn't played since Oct. 15 when he scored a goal and had an assist in a season-opening 5-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Buchnevich practiced the following day and took part in a morning skate in Seattle Oct. 19 but hasn't seen the ice since.
"He's getting looked at again today and reevaluated today just to try and speed up the process here a little bit," coach Craig Berube said. "It's not serious, but it's aggravating so it's keeping him out of the lineup."
And with forward Brandon Saad, who missed Monday's 4-0 loss at the Winnipeg Jets and did not practice Tuesday with an upper-body injury, also day-to-day, the Blues finally put pen to paper with forward Tyler Pitlick, signing the 30-year-old to a one-year, one-way, $750,000 contract on Tuesday.
Pitlick was with the Blues on a professional tryout contract in training camp before suffering a lower-body injury Sept. 27 in a 4-1 preseason win against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blues released him from his PTO before he returned Oct. 16 and accompanied the team on its most recent three-game trip to Seattle, Edmonton and Winnipeg.
"Good to have a job and go from there, looking forward to getting in and playing. It should be good," Pitlick said. "It's just been going on a while with the extra time here so yeah, it's a little nerve wracking and you never know if it's going to happen until you actually sign your name on the paper, so it's a relief and excited to get going."
Pitlick had five points (one goal, four assists) in 39 games for the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens; he also had four assists in three preseason games with the Blues.
"He was having a good camp," Berube said. "He got injured, which was unfortunate for him, but he's the type of player that you can use in a couple different spots. He's a good skater, penalty killer, he knows how to play the game properly. We like his speed and size.
"He doesn't need to complicate the game. It suits him. That style of hockey (north-south) suits him. He's effective on the forecheck, big body, taking the body, playing hard minutes."