Many felt that the shakeup could involve sending one of the Blues' lethargic players out, but instead, Armstrong had much different plans and acquired defenseman Jordan Leopold from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a second round pick and a conditional fifth rounder.
The Blues give up a 2013 2nd round pick & a conditional fifth round pick in 2013 to Buffalo for D Jordan Leopold. #stlblues
— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) March 30, 2013
Leopold is 32 years old, is a left-handed shot, and will likely immediately partner with either Alex Pietrangelo or Kevin Shattenkirk on one of the Blues top two defensive pairings.
The Blues have struggled to find a third left-handed defenseman to go along with Barret Jackman and Kris Russell and the acquisition of Leopold likely means that Wade Redden and Ian Cole will likely see very little action the rest of the way.
Leopold was averaging over 21 minutes per game for the Sabres and can log heavy minutes, which is necessary if he is going to play with Petro. Leopold is a minus-6 on the season and has posted a pair of goals and six assists in 24 games with Buffalo.
Leopold has spent the last three seasons in Buffalo, but is well-traveled. He has two stints in Calgary and Colorado and has also played with the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins during his 11 year career.
In order to make room for Leopold, the Blues shipped Jake Allen back to the minors, which means Brian Elliott will officially be the back-up the rest of the way with Jaroslav Halak being the primary option between the pipes as the Blues make a push to stay in playoff contention.
Having Leopold around should help Halak secure the net.
