Chris Stewart re-signs with Blues

The St. Louis Blues and forward Chris Stewart have avoided going to arbitration. Stewart has re-signed with the Blues for two years. The two year contract for Stewart is worth a total of $8.3 million. He'll make $4.1 million in the 2013-2014 season, and $4.2 million in 2014-2015. He was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2006 NHL draft in the first round, overall he was picked 18th in the draft. He played for the Avalanche for two and a half seasons.

Stewart would end up being traded to the St. Louis Blues during the 2010-2011 season. When he first joined the Blues after trade in his first game as a Blue, he scored two goals. That made the the fifth Blues player in franchise history to score two goals in their debut. He also got off to the best start in franchise history, scoring six goals in his first five games with the Blues.

As of now Stewart has played in 319 career games, scoring 100 goals, 102 assists, 202 points, and is a minus 19 (even though that has gotten better since joining the Blues). In the playoffs, he's played 19 games, scoring 5 goals, with 1 assist, 6 points, and is a minus 2. His best season was in 2009-2010 for the Avalanche, he played in 77 games, scoring 28 goals, 36 assists, 64 points, and finished with a plus 4.

Stewart has made himself into a better player on the Blues, even though he hasn't had 64 points yet. But he is capable of it, last season he came into camp in his best shape of his career after having a bad season in 2011-2012. That helped him out a lot last season, and he ended up leading the Blues in points with 36.

For a player who is still young at 25, and knowing what he can do if he plays up to his ability during the season, this is a perfect deal for the Blues. Stewart would have gotten more money if he and the Blues had gone to arbitration. Now the Blues need to go get defenseman Alex Pietrangelo signed long-term, and get a deal done with forward Magnus Paajarvi.