Ex-Maple Leaf Nick Ritchie gets bad news

Free agent NHL forward Nick Ritchie didn't get the news that he was hoping for from the St. Louis Blues, with whom he had signed a professional tryout agreement. 

He was released from the agreement earlier this afternoon, meaning that he's once again a free agent.

A veteran of 481 NHL games with the Anaheim Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Arizona Coyotes and Calgary Flames, Ritchie was hoping to earn a deal with the Blues this season. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. 

"He's a big body that has good hands around the net," Blues head coach Craig Berube stated earlier in the month after he signed the tryout agreement. "I like his size. (He has to) just be a heavy guy, make it hard on the other team, be responsible defensively."

Ritchie has scored 84 goals with 102 assists during his career. At 27 years of age, he's still got plenty of hockey left in him if he receives an opportunity elsewhere.

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