Alexandre Texier cleared waivers on Friday and has been assigned to Springfield of the American Hockey League. The 26-year-old was designated a non-roster player on Thursday when the St. Louis Blues [http://thn.com/stlouis] activated Jake Neighbours off injured reserve [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/blues-get-huge-boost-with-return-of-forward] and needed a roster spot for him. The next step for Texier, who is in the final year of a two-year, $4.2 million contract he signed after being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets [http://thn.com/columbus] on June 28, 2024 for a 2025 fourth-round pick, is to either report to the Thunderbirds or come to a mutual agreement with the Blues to terminate his contract and become a free agent. Texier played in just eight games this season and had one assist and 31 games last season in which he had six goals and five assists. “For ‘Tex,’ he's an outstanding young man and just didn't find any kind of path this year to consistently stay in the lineup,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said on Thursday. The Blues also assigned defenseman Hunter Skinner, who made his NHL debut in a 6-5 shootout loss [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/observations-from-blues-6-5-shootout-loss-vs-flyers] to the Philadelphia Flyers [http://thn.com/philadelphia] on Nov. 14, to Springfield on Friday but made no corresponding move to bring anyone else up. Observations From Blues' 3-2 Overtime Loss Vs. Flyers [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/f77f1b4a-3d1a-40fb-8786-b83b38214fcb.jpeg] Observations From Blues' 3-2 Overtime Loss Vs. Flyers Blues have lacked killer instinct all season, another example on Thursday; fifth two-goal lead turns into lost points; Faulk putting in results offensively; critical mistake late in second period allows Flyers back into game; creating chances, not finishing is haunting this team at the moment [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/observations-from-blues-3-2-overtime-loss-vs-flyers] Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/1dfc9296-7b1b-4ca1-b096-8efbf4392a16.jpeg] For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
