Matej Blumel's healthy scratch was the correct decision

Matej Blumel has never been able to lock down a full-time spot in an NHL lineup. Despite being one of the Dallas Stars' best players at the AHL level, something didn't click when they recalled him to the big club. When the Boston Bruins signed him this past offseason, the hope was that they could unlock that final level. However, Blumel squandered every opportunity he got, despite Marco Sturm giving him plenty of runway.

It started in training camp, when Sturm adopted the strategy of pairing players to build chemistry. Blumel and Pavel Zacha stuck together in line rushes and in most of the exhibition games, and Zacha even took the fellow Czech-born player under his wing off the ice. It was the perfect scenario for Blumel, but despite having a decent camp, he never really set himself apart from the rest of the pack.

It led to him being sent to the Providence Bruins, where he again showed that he was above that level of play. The showing in the AHL cemented his place as one of the Bruins' first call-ups if they had any injury trouble, and he was given the excellent opportunity to go with them on their current road trip.

Blumel made his Bruins debut against the Carolina Hurricanes at home before the team left on their trip, and he immediately had the chance to play on the second line with Zacha again and on the team's first powerplay unit. The line lacked cohesion, and Blumel didn't have the impact on the powerplay he wanted, but the underlying numbers showed he was one of the better Bruins.

In the first game of the road trip and second of the season for Blumel, Sturm stuck with the same lines, and the eye test still wasn't kind to Blumel. He had puck possession and seemed to be affecting the game, but his footspeed was slow, and he didn't really do much with the puck.

Instead of punishing Blumel, Sturm elevated him to the first line with another fellow Czech, David Pastrnak. The all-Czechia first line was a dream come true for Blumel, and a lot of people, myself included, were expecting a big game from him.

It was much of the same in terms of production, and then he made a crucial mistake on a late powerplay when the team had a 1-0 lead. He continually forced a low-to-high pass, which he was lucky he got away with the first two times, but on the third time the Los Angeles Kings went the other way to tie the game at 1.

Blumel was lucky that Morgan Geekie bailed him out with the overtime winner, but his costly mistakes and lack of an effect on the game sealed his fate as being the odd-man out once Elias Lindholm returned.

Matej Blumel's healthy scratch was the correct decision

You sometimes hear the term "AAAA" player, which means a player is among the best and sometimes too good for the minor leagues, but doesn't stand out at the highest level. It's a common term in baseball, but Blumel's skillset makes him the hockey equivalent.

Blumel doesn't have the strength or physicality to dethrone any of the bottom-six players who are playing well. If he's in Boston, he has to play the top six, and it doesn't seem like he has the footspeed or decision-making to make enough of an impact.

I'm still willing to give him time, but two goals in 16 career NHL games is a large enough sample size to wonder if it's ever going to work out. The contrast of 91 goals in 210 AHL games tells us that the league might be his sweet spot.

The biggest gripe with the Bruins in the past is that they recall some of their top young players from Providence and then play them in the bottom six without giving them the chance to succeed. Sturm took the complete opposite approach with Blumel, even going out of his way to change lines to make him more comfortable.

Unfortunately for Blumel, he didn't seize the opportunity, and his Providence teammate Alex Steeves has done that, largely because of his ability to be more of a Swiss-Army Knife. The final result was Blumel being the first healthy scratch upon Lindholm's return, and a likely candidate to head back to Providence once the Bruins get back home.