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<\/p>\nST. LOUIS \u2014 A strong finish to the 2024-25 regular season did more for the St. Louis Blues than just sneak them into the playoffs. It helped land them a couple forwards in free agency.<\/p>\n
Pius Suter (then with the Vancouver Canucks) and Nick Bjugstad (then with the Utah Hockey Club) were on the losing end of games down the stretch. What they witnessed was a roster on the rise, which helped them make their decisions to sign in St. Louis.<\/p>\n
On March 20, the Blues had won three straight games heading into a matchup with Vancouver. The teams were tied with 75 points apiece, but the Canucks had a game in hand, so they were the second wild card in the Western Conference. With Philip Broberg\u2019s overtime winner in a 4-3 victory, though, the Blues jumped them in the standings and never fell out of the playoff picture again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember from last season when we were in that spot and the Blues were chasing us, and they went on that big run,\u201d Suter recalled. \u201cYou want to be on a team that is on the way to something, making the playoffs and competing in the postseason. I felt like it was a team, especially with that run, I could be a part of and win more games. They had a lot of good players and coach, so it felt like a really good fit.\u201d<\/p>\n
On April 15, the Blues\u2019 franchise-record 12-game winning streak had already been snapped when they hosted Utah to wrap up the regular season. However, they needed a win to secure their spot in the postseason, and they got it with a 6-1 thumping.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a similar (perspective) as Pius as far as the Blues were a lot different team in the second half of the season,\u201d Bjugstad said. \u201cWe were watching the standings and we were like, \u2018They won\u2019t lose.\u2019 We played them our last game and there was no room on the ice. They were playing playoff hockey, and it was clear they were ready to take on the Jets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you play a team like that, you know there\u2019s things in the locker room that are being said, and they usually start with the coaching staff. It sounds like the culture is really good, and that definitely had a huge stake in me making my decision to go to St. Louis.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a pair of signings that should allow the Blues to remain competitive after last season\u2019s surprising return to the playoffs, Suter inked a two-year, $8.25 million contract and Bjugstad a two-year, $3.5 million deal.<\/p>\n
Suter, 29, is coming off a career-high 25-goal, 46-point season with Vancouver. He had never netted more than 15 goals in a season before, but in addition to being a trusted veteran, he believes he can produce like he did with the Canucks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really worked on my shot,\u201d Suter said. \u201cI felt like I got quite a few chances (in the middle slot) every year, but really couldn\u2019t connect. I also like to point out that when I had those 14-, 15-goal seasons, some of them were with quite a few less games.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut looking at where I got my chances and working on my shot, I got a few extra goals from those positions. I can definitely get 20, and if I can get those extra opportunities and put them in, then suddenly I have three more and I\u2019m closing in on 25.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pius Suter thinks his career high in goals last season wasn\u2019t an outlier. (Cameron Bartlett \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Bjugstad, 33, had just eight goals in 66 games with Utah last season, but that was after having back surgery in training camp. Two years ago, he had a career-high 22 goals and 45 points in 76 games with the Arizona Coyotes.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year was a tough year,\u201d Bjugstad said. \u201cI had a full summer of trying to rehab a back injury and it was unsuccessful, so I had the surgery. I wasn\u2019t myself the entire year. I was trying to play catch-up. So I\u2019ve been excited this summer to get back into it, really training hard, skating a lot and trying to get back to the physical form that I was two years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely want to bring some offensive touch back to my game after a slow year last year.\u00a0With a full summer and a healthy summer, I definitely have a way more positive outlook on what I can bring to the Blues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blues coach Jim Montgomery said Suter and Bjugstad bring flexibility because of their ability to play center or wing up and down the lineup.<\/p>\n
Suter, who\u2019s also played for the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings, will open the 2025-26 season at center.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need him to be a center,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cWhat I\u2019ve liked about him, everywhere he\u2019s been, it didn\u2019t matter the role he was in, he makes those guys around him better because of how smart he is and how he understands the game and how the team wants to play. As a coach, you love that because you\u2019re getting a glue guy, you\u2019re getting a guy you can throw over the boards and it doesn\u2019t matter with who, and he\u2019s going to be able to make sure that they\u2019re a reliable line.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suter could potentially play on the Blues\u2019 third line, but Montgomery didn\u2019t rule out a higher assignment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could see Suter on the second line and you could see Bjugstad on the third or fourth line,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to say it\u2019s going to be one thing or the other. In the offseason, you get your new team and you start to put lines down. It\u2019s part of the process, but once guys get on the ice, the chemistry is there or it isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suter said he had \u201ca good talk\u201d with Montgomery when he signed about playing center and realizes what the coach wants from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just important for me to help the team and be a guy that gets to go on the ice in those key situations,\u201d Suter said. \u201cIf that\u2019s going to be on the wing or center, it just helps my case to help the team and be available to get some looks. If you can do both, that was always my approach, whatever is needed. Obviously you still have to do the work in the games and earn the trust of the coaches.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Suter were to see time on the second line, that could put captain Brayden Schenn on the wing or move him down the lineup. If Schenn stays on the second line, Suter could center the third line alongside Bjugstad.<\/p>\n
\u201cBjugstad, he\u2019s primarily center too, but he\u2019s going to get opportunities on the wing as well,\u201d Montgomery said.<\/p>\n
Bjugstad, who\u2019s played with six teams during his 13-year NHL career, isn\u2019t sure where he slots into the Blues\u2019 lineup just yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing interchangeable, that\u2019s been something that\u2019s helped keep me in the lineup and be a better player,\u201d Bjugstad said. \u201cI\u2019m not giving a cliche answer, but wherever they put me, I\u2019m going to be ready to go and contribute in whatever way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adding two of those types of players in Suter and Bjugstad \u201cjust gives us so much more flexibility, not only what we can do with the everyday lineup, but more importantly in-game,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cIt gives us a lot more versatility to win games in different ways because you\u2019ve got smart, talented hockey players that understand the importance of being on the right side of the puck, the importance of the little battles that mean so much to victory at the end of a game. So their habits and details are really going to fit with the culture that we thought we were able to get to in the last 26 games last year and playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
After saying the Blues\u2019 second-half surge was a selling point in their free-agent decision and crediting Montgomery for his impact on the team, both Suter and Bjugstad are looking forward to playing for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got no past with him,\u201d Suter said. \u201cBut I\u2019ve played against a lot of his teams and I haven\u2019t heard a bad word about him as far as systems and how he treats his players.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve talked to many guys about him in the past and I\u2019ve heard great things from the best players on the team and guys who are in and out of the lineup,\u201d Bjugstad added. \u201cWhen you hear that (from a wide range of players), you get excited to play for a coach like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two are also intrigued about stepping into a lineup with prospects such as Jimmy Snuggerud and others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in Utah-Arizona the last three years and got to play with a lot of good, young talent,\u201d Bjugstad said. \u201cIt\u2019s a long season and there\u2019s a lot of stuff that comes with playing in the NHL. Yeah, for me, it\u2019s fun to mentor these young guys and share my experience. That\u2019s definitely an important element to have \u2014 a good older group and a good younger group that\u2019s eager to be in the mix with the guys \u2014 and just create an environment that\u2019s fun and willing to learn and grow from one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now Suter and Bjugstad just need their jerseys, which will come with new numbers for each of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy two numbers that I\u2019ve had in the past are (retired) under the roof,\u201d Suter said. \u201cI had No. 44 when I was back home in Zurich on the national team and I had No. 24 in the NHL. So it\u2019s the first time I have to choose a number.\u201d<\/p>\n
No. 44 belonged to Chris Pronger and No. 24 to Bernie Federko, and as mentioned, both are retired. Suter has chosen a number, but didn\u2019t want to say what it was until the Blues announce it.<\/p>\n
Bjugstad wore No. 17 with Utah last season, but that number is worn by defenseman Cam Fowler.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to go down the list, too,\u201d Bjugstad said. \u201cI went with No. 77 because two of my daughters are born on the 7th. I thought about going with No. 42. I always liked David Backes, but I figured I can\u2019t because of the respect (factor). The guys who wore it before, if it\u2019s a captain or a franchise player, you let it be.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team will make the numbers of Suter and Bjugstad, along with newcomer Logan Mailloux, official next week. In a month, both will be headed to St. Louis to join the team they admired from afar last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the decision was made, I got really excited,\u201d Suter said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to make summer run fast. I want to see the city and experience something new and meet the guys and get to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Top photo of Nick Bjugstad: Rob Gray \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. LOUIS \u2014 A strong finish to the 2024-25 regular season did more for the St. Louis Blues…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99,1610],"class_list":["post-61417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports","tag-st-louis-blues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}