Sometimes a trade deadline rental acquisition becomes more if the team and player sense a strong fit. That’s the case for defenseman Nick Leddy and the St. Louis Blues. After joining them at the deadline and playing major minutes during their run to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, he has re-signed with them on four-year, contract as reported by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.
The deal comes in at $16 million with a $4 million AAV.
Leddy, 31, was on the final season of a seven-year contract — spent with New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings, paying him a $5.5 million AAV — when the Blues acquired him and Luke Witkowski for Oskar Sundqvist, Jake Walman and a 2023 second-round pick in March. Leddy picked up eight points in 20 games and added five more in nine postseason games while logging more than 21 minutes a night.
Leddy, who won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13 and has 851 regular-season games to his name, will bring veteran stability and leadership to a Blues team that still fashions itself a serious Stanley Cup contender after pushing the eventual champion Colorado Avalanche to six games in the 2022 playoffs. Most analytics models, however, indicate Leddy is past his prime and slipping defensively. With him on the ice at 5-on-5 in the playoffs, the Blues outscored opponents 10-6 but were actually out-shot 163-82 and out-chanced 93-48.
St. Louis, however, will roll with Leddy for his mobility and intangibles. His 130 career playoff games place him seventh among active NHL defensemen.
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