The St Louis Blues have announced that they have signed forward Pius Suter to a two-year, $8.25 million contract at an average annual value (AAV) of $4.125 million.Â
Suter is coming off of a career season with the Vancouver Canucks in which he scored 25 goals and totaled 49 points. This was his fifth season in the NHL. He signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 16, 2020, after leading the Swiss National League (NL) in goals and points, which earned him the NL Media Most Valuable Player award.
Suter played one season with the Blackhawks before signing a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings the following offseason. After two seasons with the Red Wings, he signed a two-year deal with the Canucks.
Suter Could Be Entering His Prime
In 2024-25 with the Canucks, Suter broke his career-high in points and goals by 10. At 29 years old, he has 10 seasons of professional hockey experience, five seasons in Europe and five seasons in the NHL.Â
After exploding for his career-high and being trusted with the most minutes of his career with the Canucks last season, there is not much reason to think he can not replicate this season given the way he plays the game.
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Suter has an excellent stick and great defensive positioning, making him a reliable defensive forward who can be trusted with top minutes. He is also the type of player who can fit with virtually anyone, given his ability to find space in high-danger areas of the ice.Â
Suter’s Versatility Will Be Welcomed by Blues
Throughout his young career, Suter has played in various roles. He can play anywhere in the lineup, as demonstrated last season when he averaged over 17 minutes per game, a career high, while playing with 22 different line combinations (via Money Puck).Â
Suter is also an effective special-teams player. In four of his first five seasons in the NHL, he has logged 70 minutes or more with his teams’ power play units, and he has played 87 minutes or more on the penalty kill in four straight seasons.
With Suter on the ice last season, the Canucks averaged 8.02 more scoring chances per 60 minutes than they were allowing and 4.4 more high-danger chances at five-on-five. He also averaged the second-lowest expected goals allowed per 60 minutes rate among Canucks forwards while on the ice killing penalties last season (via Natural Stat Trick).Â
The Blues are getting one of the most versatile forwards in the NHL. Suter is most known for his defensive reliability, but can also provide an offensive spark, especially in big moments, with 16.25% of his career goals being game winners. The Blues are a team looking to make some noise again in the playoffs after losing to the Winnipeg Jets in the first round last season. With Suter’s strengths being his hockey IQ and ability to be in the right place at the right time, the Blues can expect consistent production from him. While it is unlikely that he will become a game changer, the Blues are acquiring an excellent two-way forward who will help them in all facets of the game and could potentially help this team advance past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
