ST. LOUIS -- The sun has risen in St. Louis once again.
Oskar Sundqvist, a fan favorite among St. Louis Blues fans, reunites with the team he helped win a Stanley Cup when the unrestricted free agent agreed to return to the Blues Wednesday on a one-year contract worth the league minimum at $775,000.
The 29-year-old center adds depth down the middle, likely as a fourth-line center who can move up and down the lineup, and returns to the team he played for, for five seasons (2017-22) before being traded to the Detroit Red Wings, along with defenseman Jake Walman and a 2023 second-round pick for defensemen Nick Leddy and Luke Witkowski.
Known to fans and his teammates as "Sunny," the versatile forward spent the past two seasons with the Red Wings and Minnesota Wild, who acquired him at the trade deadline this past season where he played 15 games (three goals, four assists).
After the Blues acquired Sundqvist from the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2017 NHL Draft, he played in 242 regular-season games (35 goals, 48 assists) along with 34 Stanley Cup playoff games, including 25 in the championship run when he had four goals and five assists.
The Blues know what they're getting in Sundqvist, a hard-working motor of a skater who will muck and grind and be a versatile back-end center iceman to take draws, kill penalties and help fill the scoresheet when needed.
There was talk the past couple weeks of Sundqvist's desire to return to the Blues when he hit the free agent market July 1, but in order for it to happen, a one-year contract worth around the league minimum would be the best the Blues could do.
It's a chance for Sundqvist to play as close to a full season as possible and prove his worth before hitting the open market again on July 1, 2024. He played in 67 games last season, the most since the Cup run when he played 74 games in 2018-19.
Sundqvist's signing gives the Blues 12 forwards under contract (11 on one-way contracts), with restricted free agent Alexey Toropchenko, who has an arbitration hearing scheduled for July 20, yet to sign, and 21 one-way contracts in all (forward Jake Neighbours is playing under his entry-level deal). Defenseman Calle Rosen is playing under a two-way contract but would require waivers to be sent down. The only waivers-exempt skaters are Neighbours and defenseman Scott Perunovich, who signed a one-way contract but could be sent down to Springfield of the American Hockey League if needed for cap purposes.
But Sundqvist's signing, more importantly than anything, solidifies the top four down the middle behind Robert Thomas, Brayden Schenn, newly-acquired Kevin Hayes and now Sundqvist, with depth behind them in Nathan Walker, Nikita Alexandrov and prospects Zachary Bolduc and Zach Dean, each who can also play the wing.
Sundqvist lives in St. Louis during the offseason and has been a regular at St. Louis City SC soccer matches throughout the season. He can now remain a fixture at CITYPARK.