The St. Louis Blues have continued to lock up their young stars long-term, as according to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, they have signed restricted free agent forward Jaden Schwartz to a five-year deal worth just under $27MM.
The 24-year old Schwartz is coming off a season in which he missed a huge chunk of the season due to a broken ankle suffered in October. He finished with 22 points in 33 games, but really made his presence felt in the playoffs, where he tallied another 14 points in 20 games, trailing the team leaders – Vladimir Tarasenko and Robby Fabbri – by just one point.
Before the broken ankle, Schwartz had put up back-to-back seasons of 25+ goals and 55+ points, making him one of the best young offensive forwards in the league. Now, the Blues have locked him up for $5.35MM (per Cap Friendly), a steal for a player of his performance. Cap Friendly also reports that he will receive a limited no-trade clause in years four and five, allowing him to submit a list of up to 15 teams that he will not accept a move to.
With the deals to Schwartz, Pheonix Copley and Jordan Binnington, St. Louis has now re-signed all of their restricted free agents from this year, and will not have to go to arbitration this summer. With what looks like a completed roster, it would be surprising to see St. Louis involved in any of the remaining free agents. If anything else happens with the Blues’ roster, it may still revolve around the departure of Kevin Shattenkirk, long rumored to be on the block this summer.
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