The St. Louis Blues have signed forwards Zach Dean and Dylan Peterson to one-year, two-way contracts. Both Dean and Peterson were pending RFAs, but the Blues made quick work of re-signing them before they had to give them qualifying offers. Dean was acquired by St. Louis in the trade that sent Ivan Barbashev to the Vegas Golden Knights [http://thn.com/vegas]. Dean was originally a first-round pick (30th overall) by the Golden Knights in the 2021 NHL draft. Although Dean is a rapid skater with good hands and passing vision, he hasn’t been able to translate it to the professional level. In his final QMJHL [http://thn.com/qmjhl] season in 2022-23, Dean posted 33 goals and 70 points in 50 games, before adding 10 goals and 26 points in 13 playoff games. In his first season with the Blues, Dean featured in nine NHL games but failed to record a point. Since then, the 23-year-old hasn’t received a call-up. At the moment, Dean’s greatest flaw is availability. He played just 11 AHL [http://thn.com/ahl] games in 2024-25 and just 36 games this season. In those 36 games, Dean recorded four goals and 14 points. Dean missed a large chunk of the start of the season after being placed in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. His 2025-26 season did not begin until the start of 2026. St. Louis Blues Have Seven RFAs This Off-Season [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/68d0ab16-e51d-4647-866c-d72dc6dfe0fe.jpeg] St. Louis Blues Have Seven RFAs This Off-Season The St. Louis Blues will have seven restricted free agents this off-season, highlighted by Jonatan Berggren and Matthew Kessel. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/st-louis-blues-have-seven-rfas-this-off-season] The Blues are hoping for a healthy season from Dean next year, which will hopefully get his game back on track and allow him to begin working his way back to the NHL roster. Dean’s contract will carry an $850,000 AAV in the NHL, and he’ll be paid $95,000 in the minors. When his one-year contract concludes, Dean will remain a restricted free agent, according to Puckpedia. [https://x.com/PuckPedia/status/2062318286738755587?s=20] As for Peterson, the 24-year-old completed his second season with the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL, scoring 12 goals and 24 points in 57 games. Standing 6-foot-4, the 2020 third-round pick (86th overall) of the Blues brings valuable size to the Thunderbirds’ lineup. While it hasn’t really translated to high-end production in the AHL, Peterson is still young, and they hope he continues to trend in the right direction. With Dean and Peterson re-signed, the Thunderbirds should be a Calder Cup-contending threat once again next season. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/88c8892a-6723-4b27-9ca8-4581a3447358.jpeg] For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
