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Blues make Colaiacovo deal official: one year, $550,000

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Carlo Colaiacovo has passed all his medical tests and is ready to rejoin the Blues.

That was the word out of St. Louis on Thursday as the club officially announced it’d signed Colaiacovo to a one-year, $550,000 deal.

“With Jordan Leopold out for a significant period, we wanted to bring an experienced player into our group of seven,” Blues GM Doug Armstrong in a statement. “Being a former Blue, Carlo is familiar with our organization which should make for an easy transition.”

Colaiacovo, 30, enjoyed his finest NHL season with the Blues in 2009-10, scoring a career-high seven goals and 32 points while appearing in 67 games.

Toronto’s first-round pick (17th overall) at the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Colaiacovo has always been known as a skilled offensive defenseman, but one that struggles with the defensive side of the game and has issues staying healthy.

In four seasons with St. Louis, he missed at least 15 games every year to an assortment of ailments. That didn’t stop Detroit from signing him to a two-year, $5 million deal just prior to the lockout, though – and true to form, he suffered a shoulder injury in January and missed 29 games, never emerging as more than a bit player for the Wings.

During the July compliance window, Detroit bought out the final year of Colaiacovo’s deal.

As Armstrong mentioned, Colaiacovo comes in at the expense of Leopold. On Monday, St. Louis announced he would be out for a couple of months after undergoing surgery to repair ligament damage in his hand.

Leopold, 33, has two assists in 13 games while averaging 15:45 of ice time.