St. Louis Blues Sign Oskar Sundqvist

The St. Louis Blues and center Oskar Sundqvist have avoided arbitration and signed a four-year contract worth $11 million. Sundqvist, 25, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 3rd round of the 2012 NHL draft (81st overall). Sundqvist didn't show much with the Penguins, when he made his NHL debut in 2015-2016. Sundqvist played in 18 games with 1 goal, 3 assists, and 4 points. The next season, Sundqvist only played in 10 games.

After the 2016-2017 season, the Penguins traded Sundqvist and their first-round pick to the St. Louis Blues for right wing Ryan Reaves and a second-round pick. Sundqvist saw a new career high 42 games in 2017-2018 with 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points, and a -5. Fans kind of wondered why the Blues even traded for him. People seemed to want him traded. People forgot he was still young and had potential to be a good player if he got the chance. That's what happened finally in 2018-2019. Sundqvist played a career high 74 games with 14 goals, 17 assists, 31 points, and a -1. All of those were career highs for Sundqvist.

Sundqvist helped the Blues win their first ever Stanley Cup in franchise history. During the postseason run, Sundqvist played in 25 games with 4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points, and a plus 5. Sundqvist has become a great penalty killer for the Blues.

Overall, Sundqvist has played 4 seasons in the NHL. Sundqvist has played 144 games with 16 goals, 24 assists, 40 points, and a -10. In the playoffs, Sundqvist has played 27 games with 4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points, and a plus 5.

The Blues kept Sundqvist at a great price. Hopefully, Sundqvist can continue to have the success he had in the 2018-2019 season.

St. Louis Blues Sign Jordan Binnington

The St. Louis Blues and goalie Jordan Binnington have avoided arbitration and signed a two-year contract worth $8.8 million. Binnington and the Blues had been scheduled to go to arbitration on July 20, 2019. Binnington, 26, helped lead the Blues to their first Stanley Cup victory in franchise history. Binnington set a rookie record for the most wins in a single postseason with 16 win. The previous record was 15 set by Patrick Roy. Ron Hextall, Cam Ward, and Matt Murray all tied Roy with 15. Binnington for the playoffs had a .914 save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.46.

On the regular season, Binnington went 24-5-1 in 32 games with a save percentage of .927 and a goals-against average of 1.89. Binnington won Rookie of the Month in back-to-back months, February and March. Binnington ended up being named to the All-Rookie Team.

The 2019-2020 season will be Binnington's first full season starting in the NHL. Fans will wonder if Binnington is a one year wonder or if he's for real. It seems like right now that Binnington is for real and a late bloomer. To start last season, Binnington was the Blues third string goalie.