Blues’ Jori Lehtera out 6 to 8 weeks after ankle surgery

The bad news, though, is that this puts Lehtera’s return far enough out that he won’t get to spend much time in pre-season or training camp with his teammates – which the Blues are hoping not to have trouble with, but could have benefited from regardless.

St. Louis Blues center Jori Lehtera will miss six to eight weeks after undergoing ankle surgery, the team announced Monday.

If Lehtera takes a bit longer to get back to full strength, he may miss a few games in the early part of the regular season, which begins on October 8.

A former teammate of Blues star forward Vladimir Tarasenko in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, Lehtera developed quick chemistry with Tarasenko and winger Jaden Schwartz to help form one of the team’s most effective lines last season.

With regard to Lehtera’s ankle, the Blues opted for rest and rehabilitation over surgery this offseason. St. Louis was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Wild. With the season approaching, the procedure was deemed necessary. Louis Post Dispatch’s Jeremy Rutherford, Lehtera suffered the ankle injury toward the end of the regular season. He is expected to be one of the Blues’ top centers again this season and signed a three-year, $14.1 million contract extension last month.