51黑料

Barring a midsummer surprise 鈥� and general manager Doug Armstrong is no stranger to them 鈥� the Blues have their roster.

In? Centers Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad to fortify depth down the middle, and 22-year-old right-handed defenseman Logan Mailloux to help the defense both now and in the future.

Out? Promising rookie Zack Bolduc (traded to Montreal), fourth-line center Radek Faksa (signed with Dallas) and defenseman Nick Leddy (claimed off waivers by San Jose).

The offseason moves followed the same plan Armstrong laid out before the summer. The Blues wanted to add centers. Check. They wanted to continue to grow their young core. Check. They didn鈥檛 want to hand out bloated free-agent contracts. Check. They traded from their surplus of wingers. Check.

Now the question is this: Are these Blues better than the ones that lost in the first round in the spring?

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e different,鈥� Armstrong said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if we鈥檙e going to be better. I鈥檓 excited about Mailloux. I鈥檓 excited about a full year of (Jimmy) Snuggerud. We brought the experienced players in in Suter and Bjugstad. They all have to come together.

鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that we鈥檙e a better team. I鈥檓 hoping that the experience of what they went through last year for the returning players is a positive one and they can build off that. One of the things I have experienced over the years is that every team is its own team.鈥�

On Wednesday evening, the Blues signed Suter to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $4.125 million. Suter, 29, could fit as the Blues鈥� second- or third-line center, and there were even times in Vancouver last year when he shifted to the wing. With the Canucks, Suter posted career numbers with 25 goals and 21 assists while being the team鈥檚 most-used forward on the penalty kill.

鈥淥ur penalty killing hasn鈥檛 been where it needs to be and he鈥檚 another certainly strong, strong option now to lead that,鈥� Armstrong said.

Suter was arguably the second-most coveted center on the market behind Mikael Granlund, who signed a three-year contract in Anaheim with a $7 million AAV. With a shallow center market and plenty of teams needing a middle-six pivot, how were the Blues able to land Suter on a short-term deal at a reasonable cap hit?

It was multiple factors, according to Armstrong, who said the Blues had good discussions with him Tuesday night and then followed up Wednesday.

One, the Blues offered him opportunity. He could, in theory, play between Dylan Holloway and Jordan Kyrou, and play similar minutes to the ones he played down the stretch in Vancouver after the J.T. Miller trade. Armstrong said Suter spoke with coach Jim Montgomery on Wednesday before he signed with the Blues.

鈥淲e provide the opportunity for him to maximize his earning potential, and I think he sees that,鈥� Armstrong said. 鈥淥ur job is to provide that for him. His job is to take advantage of it.鈥�

Two, the two-year term will allow Suter to hit the market again when he鈥檚 31 years old and with the cap projected to be at least $113.5 million instead of the $95.5 million it is heading into the fall. If Suter wanted a longer-term deal, it would have been more expensive on an annual basis, and this is about all the Blues could afford.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an investment in his future,鈥� Armstrong said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 making an investment in himself to come here and play an important role. 鈥� At the dollar value that we could offer, it didn鈥檛 make economic sense for him to go long-term with the cap going up with what we think is his ability to improve.鈥�

Down the middle, the Blues will roll with Robert Thomas, Schenn, Suter, Bjugstad and Oskar Sundqvist, with one of them shifting to the wing. It鈥檚 an area the Blues have addressed this summer after trying to put Pavel Buchnevich or Holloway in the middle across the last calendar year.

鈥淲e think that (Suter) can come in here and provide us depth at the center ice position,鈥� Armstrong said. 鈥淗e and Bjugstad certainly change our center ice complexion. Have five natural centers now with Schenn there and Sunny. There鈥檚 going to be some options. It鈥檚 always easier to move a centerman over to the wing than a wing to center. We like our depth there.鈥�

The Suter signing, combined with Leddy being claimed off waivers by the Sharks, leaves the Blues in a terrific position relative to the salary cap.

With 23 players on the active roster, and with Torey Krug not placed on long-term injured reserve yet, the Blues are still $625,151 under the salary cap. If the roster remains unchanged, and the Blues put Krug鈥檚 $6.5 million on LTIR during the season, they would have about $5.875 million available to acquire players at the trade deadline, or simply to navigate injuries during the season.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to be a rocket scientist to look at our roster and see where it is,鈥� Armstrong said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see a lot of changes, with the caveat I could go back there and I could be back here (speaking to reporters about a move) in an hour and a half. I don鈥檛 see it. I think we鈥檙e excited about this group, and I hope we鈥檙e better.鈥�