Scott Gomez deserves more playing time

Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d write: Scott Gomez deserves more playing time. Brought in along with Scottie Upshall to provide a bit of depth for the Blues at forward, Gomez always seemed to be an outlier who would rarely factor into the roster. A handful of injuries changed that and Gomez has proved he’s worthy of seeing more time.

Saturday’s game against the Islanders is a limited sample to draw from, but the 35-year-old Gomez was outstanding. He ended up with just one shot during his 11:11 on the ice, but that boxscore doesn’t show how influential he was in the offensive zone. The Gomez line, which also featured Steve Ott and Ty Rattie, was extremely threatening and produced several high-quality chances which unfortunately weren’t finished.

Gomez was finding space not only for himself in the opponent’s end, but he was also drawing players away from his teammates. On two separate occasions he made the final pass ahead of what probably should have been goals, but the chances flew wide.

With the Blues nursing a series of injuries, including some serious ones in Paul Stastny and Jaden Schwartz, numerous players will have their opportunity to shine. To date, Gomez has been a solid and surprising source of chances in the offensive zone. Why not try him out on a larger basis?

It’s possible that Gomez is benefiting from not playing in every game and is able to bring his best more consistently while avoiding the bumps and bruises of being a regular, but for now the Blues would be wise to play him more frequently.