The St. Louis Blues signed free-agent defenseman Ryan Suter to a one-year pact, the team announced Wednesday.
The contract includes a base salary of $775,000, but Suter can earn an additional $2.225 million in performance bonuses.
Suter will receive paychecks from three of the Central Division's eight teams this coming season. The Dallas Stars bought out the final year of his contract earlier this offseason, and he'll remain on the Minnesota Wild's books for four more seasons from the 2021 buyout. He's the second player in NHL history to be bought out twice.
The 39-year-old recorded two goals and 15 assists in 82 games while averaging 18:56 of ice time in 2023-24. He added four points in 19 postseason appearances.
His best ability at this point in his career is arguably his availability. Suter has played 453 straight contests - the second-longest ironman streak among active players - and hasn't missed more than five games in a single campaign since 2010-11.
While the offense has mostly deteriorated, Suter still managed to post strong defensive metrics in primarily a third-pairing role with the Stars last season.
Ryan Suter, signed 1x$0.8M by STL, is a veteran defenceman. Despite maddening fans with his slow skating, increasingly frequent turnovers, and tendency to move up the lineup, his results have been decent enough. #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/8glsqgzm9o
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 11, 2024
Suter will bring more experience to an already grizzled blue line in St. Louis. Top-four stalwarts Colton Parayko, Nick Leddy, Justin Faulk, and Torey Krug are all at least 31 years old. Suter projects to compete for a spot on the third pair with Scott Perunovich, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Tyler Tucker, and Matthew Kessel - all of whom are 25 or younger.
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