Oskar Sundqvist signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. It has an average annual value of $1.5 million.
Sundqvist has 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in 62 games with the Blues this season. The 29-year-old forward could have become an unrestricted free agent after the season; he had signed a one-year, $775,000 contract to return for a second stint with St. Louis on July 12.
"St. Louis has been my home for a couple of years now, and it's definitely something I'm considering becoming my home outside of Sweden," Sundqvist told the Blues website. "The fan base in St. Louis is great, we've always had good fans. They're respectful and loud, and it's one of the most fun buildings I've ever played in."
Sundqvist played for the Blues for five seasons during his first stint from 2017-22 and helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2019. He was traded to the Detroit Red Wings on March 21, 2022, and traded by Detroit to the Minnesota Wild on March 3, 2023.
"Obviously super happy to get a deal done and get to stay in St. Louis," Sundqvist said. "I'm just very excited right now. I've been feeling good this year. I've been feeling healthy and no injuries so it's been a good year but mostly is feeling healthy and feeling fresh."
In six seasons with the Blues, Sundqvist has 104 points (41 goals, 63 assists) in 304 regular-season games and 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 34 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I had good talks with [Blues general manager Doug Armstrong] yesterday morning and kind of more wanted to be a part of this team and wanted to be a part of kind of turning this ship around," Sundqvist said. "For me personally, I didn't want to just abandon it and leave. I wanted to stay here, and I wanted to help this team get back to being successful and being back in the playoffs and being a contender again. So for me, it was a huge part to stay here and hopefully help this team win hockey games."
The Blues (32-27-3) are six points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference after not qualifying last season. They visit the New Jersey Devils on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN).
“I talked to Oskar yesterday morning and it was just we had the Trade Deadline coming up (on Friday),” Armstrong said Friday. “I was honest that my affection for him as a man and the way he plays and what he means to the team that we would like to talk about an extension, but I also understand he's a great competitor and knowing how much he enjoys the playoffs, how he excels in the playoffs, that if he wanted me to look for a situation that would give him that opportunity, I told him I would, and I would bring back all the different options.
“… He talked about his love of the city, his love of the fan base, of the organization and we talked about him wanting to be a big part of helping us get the train back on the tracks, and then when we get it on the tracks, we can pick up steam, and he wants to be a part of that. That was refreshing to hear because it's a transient league and players come and go. When you have someone that has the love that he has for the crest on the front of the jersey and then the city, it became important for us to see if we can get a deal done and it's very easy to get a deal done when you have two sides pulling on the same rope like that together.”
In nine NHL seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Blues, Red Wings and Wild, he has 144 points (56 goals, 88 assists) in 417 regular-season games and 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 37 playoff games.
"He just does things the right way, day to day, game to game, shift to shift, so he plays a game that brings a lot of energy to our lineup," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "Good details, draws guys into the fight, so I'm happy for him. He deserves what he got here today."
NHL.com senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale and independent correspondent Lou Korac contributed to this report
