The St. Louis Blues and forward Alexander Steen have agreed to a three-year contract extension. The deal is worth $17.4 million. Steen will make $5.1 million starting next season. In the final year of Steen's new deal he'll make $6.5 million. The deal also includes a no-trade clause. He would have become a free agent after the 2013-014 NHL season. He was a first round pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2002 NHL draft, overall he was picked 24th. He ended up not living up to expectations in Toronto and was traded by the Maple Leafs during to 2008-09 season to the St. Louis Blues with defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo for right wing Lee Stempniak. He ended up finding success on the Blues. And had his best season in 2010-2011 when he scored 20 goals, and had 31 assists for 51 points. Steen right now looks like he'll have a career year this season, and is on pace for now. As of now, Steen has 22 goals, and 14 assists for 36 points.
He's played nine seasons in the NHL. Over those nine seasons his career stats are: 570 games played, 145 goals, 194 assists, 339 points, and is a plus 31. He's developed into a team leader on the Blues. He's one of their alternate captains on the team.
I like this move a lot for the Blues. The Blues like to reward their players with contracts once they show they they are worth the money under Tom Stillman's onwership. Steen is also a fan favorite on the Blues. He's worked hard to deserve his contract extension. I think soon the Blues will need to figure out if they can keep David Backes and TJ Oshie. Hopefully the Blues will be able to keep both Backes and Oshie around long-term. As for me I like how Tom Stillman's ownership group waits for players to show that their worth a long-term deal. Steen could have made more money on the free agent market. So the Blues got him at cheaper price for a player like Steen. It's a win-win for both sides. And Steen likes playing in St. Louis.
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