July 7: The Blues confirmed Zherenko’s and Skinner’s contracts while also confirming a two-way deal for winger Matt Luff that was reported when the market opened last week.
July 6: After getting Joel Hofer signed to a new deal late last month, the Blues have re-signed their other restricted free agent netminder. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that St. Louis has re-signed Vadim Zherenko to a one-year, two-way contract. PuckPedia is also reporting (Twitter link) that defenseman Hunter Skinner has inked a one-year, two-way agreement as well. Both players will receive $775K in the NHL and $125K in the minors, meaning they took less than their qualifying offers to secure more guaranteed money.
Zherenko was a seventh-round pick by St. Louis back in 2019, going 208th overall and has had a bit of a journey thus far in professional hockey. The 24-year-old was drafted out of Russia and spent one more year at home, splitting time between the VHL and the MHL before deciding to play in Finland in 2021-22 where he spent the bulk of the year with Ilves at the top Liiga level. His performance there helped earn him an entry-level contract that spring.
Since then, Zherenko has spent his time with AHL Springfield, save for a brief stint in St. Louis on recall in his rookie year that didn’t yield any NHL playing time. Last season, he posted a 12-17-5 record in 32 games with the Thunderbirds along with a 3.44 GAA and a .897 SV%. He played behind starter Colten Ellis who is now waiver-eligible moving forward, leaving his future a little murkier as he’ll have to pass through unclaimed to return to Springfield. Zherenko, meanwhile, remains waiver-exempt for one more year so it’s safe to say that he’ll be back with the Thunderbirds next season.
As for Skinner, he was a fourth-round pick of the Rangers back in 2019, going 112th overall. He spent the following season with OHL London before turning pro in 2020-21. He spent parts of three seasons in their farm system, primarily with AHL Hartford before being traded to St. Louis in 2023 as part of the deal that sent rental players Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola to New York to try to aid their playoff run.
Since then, Skinner has played with Springfield and is coming off his best season at the AHL level, one that saw him record eight goals and 14 assists in 69 games along with 98 penalty minutes. That was enough to earn him a qualifying offer to get another opportunity but unless he becomes an NHL regular and plays in at least 80 games next season, Skinner will become eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency next summer.
With the signings, the Blues are down to just one remaining restricted free agent to re-sign, forward Nikita Alexandrov.