Edmundson agrees to one-year deal

ST. LOUIS - Joel Edmundson and the St. Louis Blues avoided arbitration on Tuesday by agreeing to terms on a one-year contract worth $3 million.

"We're excited," Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong told stlouisblues.com. "Joel is a player we'd like to have here for a number of years, and this is the first step in doing that. He's a big body, he complements our skilled players very well and has a little bit of nastiness to him. I don't care how much the NHL changes, it doesn't change that much where you can't appreciate that style of play."
"It's nice that we could agree to a deal before entering arbitration," Edmundson told stlouisblues.com. "I'm looking forward to the season."
Last season, Edmundson matched a career high in games played (69) and set new career highs in goals (7) and points (17). The Brandon, Manitoba native has played in 205 career NHL games over three seasons, posting 11 goals and 30 assists (41 points) to go with a plus-10 rating and 180 penalty minutes.
"He's a quiet personality," Armstrong said. "He doesn't say a lot, but he has the presence in the locker room and certainly the presence on the ice. The opposition knows when he's playing, and it's nice to have that in your group."

Tuesday's signing means the Blues defense will likely look the same this season.
"I think we finished sixth overall in goals against, and that was with a lot of injuries on the backend," Armstrong said. "Given some health this year, this group can only be better than it was last year and it was a solid group."
With the exception of Jordan Schmaltz, the Blues have now signed all of their restricted free agents.