Veteran Ryan Suter will play his 20th NHL season in the fall as the Blues announced that they’ve signed the defenseman to a one-year contract. The deal carries a base salary of $775K and contains an additional $2.225MM in performance bonuses. The team did not reveal the breakdown of the bonus structure but Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports (Twitter link) that it’s as follows:
10 GP: $225K
30 GP: $400K
40 GP: $500K
60 GP: $600K
60 GP and qualifies for the playoffs: $500K
Suter spent the last three seasons in Dallas but saw his minutes drop in 2023-24, dipping to 18:56 per night, the lowest since his rookie year back in 2005-06 when he was with Nashville. The 39-year-old’s point total also dropped to the lowest it had been since then as he managed just two goals and 15 assists although he played in all 82 games for the third straight year. Suter added four points in 19 postseason contests but his ice time was a bit lower, checking in at 17:50 per contest.
As a result of the dip in performance and playing time, the Stars opted to buy out the final year and $3.65MM remaining on his contract. Considering he’s also still being paid by Minnesota on his buyout with them back in 2021, he will be paid by three Central Division teams next season. He’s the second player in NHL history to be bought out twice, joining fellow rearguard Tony DeAngelo.
A veteran of 1,444 career NHL appearances, Suter sits fifth all-time among U.S.-born players. Assuming he stays healthy and plays a regular role for St. Louis, he could climb up to second on that list; he sits 72 games behind Matt Cullen for that slot. He has 681 points in those appearances with an average TOI of more than 24 minutes a night.
Of course, those numbers don’t reflect where Suter is in his career. At this point, he’s more of a depth player than one who will be expected to anchor a back end but with the Blues, he can be more of a depth piece as he’ll slot in behind Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, Nick Leddy, and Torey Krug. With them in place, Suter will be battling with Scott Perunovich, Tyler Tucker, and newcomer Pierre-Olivier Joseph for playing time on the third pairing.
The fact the contract is structured this way is interesting as St. Louis has more than ample cap space to cover the full amount should his bonuses be reached; they still have more than $7.3MM in room, per PuckPedia with RFA Nikita Alexandrov still in need of a new deal. However, by making the base salary the league minimum, that will be a lower daily charge on the cap which could make him an intriguing option for buyers near the trade deadline if the Blues find themselves out of a playoff spot. If he remains in St. Louis, they should be able to cover any of those bonuses on the 2024-25 cap instead of rolling those charges over to the following season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Whaaaat? Why??
No bad for veteren leadership there is alot worse…
With Fauk, Leddy, Krug, and Parayko on Defense already; I’m not sure I see the value of more veteran leadership.
Because the Kevin Hayes leadership thing worked so well.
Ryan Suter doesn’t provide any “veteran leadership” unless the players are also veterans. That is why Minnesota got rid of him. He refused to speak with, let alone help out with, the younger members on the team. Suter is a giant a-hole, that is why he fit so well when he first got to Dallas.
Umm, what??
Uhhhh, ok. I guess?
I would have to say Krug and possibly Parayko will not be there at start of season. That’s why he is needed..
They should be moving a veteran or Two . Not signing another. Did he get no trade also.
He’s terrible and has been for years.
dallas fans rejoice!
6 years late on this one.
Guess none of the Cup contenders were interested, even at that low salary.
This dude LOVES the Central division.
I assume krug or leddy or both are traded. They’ve made it known they want to give perunovich alot of playing time and there’s just too many people at this point.
I can’t want until they send him down to Springfield.