The St. Louis Blues have announced that they have signed forward Nick Ritchie to a professional tryout agreement.
Ritchie was an unrestricted free agent this summer after playing for both the Arizona Coyotes and Calgary Flames last season. He scored 13 goals and registered 13 assists for a total of 26 points in 74 games between the two teams.
Last season, Ritchie was moved on trade deadline day to the Calgary Flames along with Troy Stetcher. In return, the Arizona Coyotes received his brother, Brett Ritchie, and Connor Mackey. Brett is expected to sign a PTO with the Florida Panthers.
The 27-year-old was selected 10th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in 2014 and has played for various organizations over the past four seasons. During that time, Ritchie has found himself suiting up for the Ducks, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Arizona Coyotes, and Calgary Flames.
Throughout eight NHL seasons, Ritchie has compiled a total of 186 points (84 goals, 102 assists) and 483 penalty minutes in 481 regular-season games. He has averaged 13:38 of ice time over his NHL career.
Ritchie joins Isaac Ratcliffe as the only other PTO heading to St. Louis Blues training camp that is set to begin on Sept. 21. Though there’s always a possibility the Blues decide to extend PTOs to other players before training camp begins. With the Blues missing the playoffs last season and looking to revamp their roster it could allow for Ritchie to establish himself in a bottom-six role for the organization.
The Blues have $293,571 in projected cap space, according to CapFriendly. Last year, the Blues signed Tyler Pitlick to a deal nearly a month after his PTO came to a close. Other notable signees through the tryout path include James Neal (2021-22), Mike Hoffman (2020-21), Troy Brouwer (2019-20) and Scottie Upshall (2017-18).
More must-reads: