Amidst the craziness of the ongoing free agent frenzy, the St. Louis Blues have re-signed an RFA depth player, Will Bitten. Per the team’s release, Bitten has signed a two-year, two-way deal carrying a $762K cap hit, per CapFriendly.
Bitten had a breakout season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds after a midseason trade saw his NHL rights dealt to the Blues from the Minnesota Wild. Notching a solid 25 points in 45 regular season games after the trade, he was also stellar in the Calder Cup Playoffs for Springfield, tallying 21 points in just 18 games.
At 24 years old, the long-term NHL ceiling for Bitten isn’t super high, but there’s still time for him. He’s a cerebral player with good hockey sense, and he’ll look to continue to work his way up the Blues’ depth chart over the next two seasons. Bitten was originally a third-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2016. He’s yet to see an NHL game.
The team has also signed forward Dylan McLaughlin to a one-year, two-way contract that will pay $750K in the NHL and $175K in the minors (link).
McLaughlin began his amateur career in the USHL, playing for both the Sioux Falls Stampede and the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders before spending four years at Canisus College, where he had 147 points in 152 games. The forward turned pro, signing with the Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks. The 27-year-old has split his professional career between the IceHogs and the Indy Fuel of the ECHL, most recently compiling a strong 2021-22 with Rockford, tallying 13 goals and 29 assists in 55 games.