When you spend an entire hockey season sitting beside the same player in the dressing room, you can learn a lot about their habits - and their weaknesses.

St. Louis Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, a seven-year NHL veteran, quickly figured out how to get the best out of his seating arrangement beside 22-year-old Joel Edmundson, paying the fellow blue-liner to take his skates off after practice.

This isn't a case of a veteran player picking on a rookie, as Edmundson seemed more than happy to help his teammate out.

"He just gave me an offer I couldn't resist," Edmundson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "It pays for lunch. You've got to do what you've got to do to make a buck."

Gunnarsson joked that his sore back was making it hard for him to reach down to his skates, but admitted he was bound to find out Edmundson's weak spot during a long season.

"You figure it out," he said. "I've been sitting here for 70 games. You learn."

Edmundson is currently the lowest-paid defenseman on the Blues' roster, making a measly $742,500 this season.

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