Blues activate Robert Bortuzzo, recall Jacob de la Rose in flurry of roster moves

ST. LOUIS — The Blues activated defenseman Robert Bortuzzo and recalled forward Jacob de la Rose in a series of roster moves on Sunday afternoon.

The team also placed forward Robert Thomas, who will miss four to six weeks with a broken thumb, on injured reserve and returned forward Mackenzie MacEachern and defenseman Jake Walman to the taxi squad.

Bortuzzo, 31, sustained an upper-body injury on a hit by the Avalanche’s Valeri Nichushkin in the second game of the season and has not played since. His return could be coming at an important time for the Blues, who have been without Marco Scandella for the last two games as the veteran defenseman recovers from an upper-body injury.

de la Rose, 25, was acquired from the Red Wings in exchange for forward Robby Fabbri in Nov. 2019 and played in 50 games between Detroit and St. Louis last season, collecting two goals and seven assists. He has yet to appear in an NHL game this season, though he’s been with the big club as part of the taxi squad all year and was briefly recalled to the active roster last month.

Thomas, 21, sustained a hand injury in Saturday’s loss to the Coyotes that will keep him out for the foreseeable future. He has a goal and five assists in 12 games this season.

MacEachern and Walman both made their season debuts in Saturday’s game. MacEachern had a hit in 10:09 of ice time, including 4:14 on the penalty kill, while Walman had two hits in 5:51.