Oskar Sundqvist is coming back to the Show Me State.
As first reported by the Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford Wednesday morning, Sundqvist has returned to the St. Louis Blues as an unrestricted free agent on a one-year contract for $775,000, which is the new NHL league minimum beginning in 2023-24, up from $750,000. Sundqvist hinted at the deal with a cryptic tweet earlier Wednesday, and the Blues confirmed the signing shortly after Rutherford reported it.
Sundqvist, 29, was a Pittsburgh Penguins third-round pick in 2012 and broke into the NHL with them, seeing his name etched on the 2015-16 Stanley Cup after playing 18 regular-season games and two playoff games that season. The best stretch of his career came with the Blues, however, after they acquired him in a 2017 offseason trade.
Establishing himself as an important checking forward for the team, he peaked with seasons of 14 and 12 goals from 2018-19 through 2019-20. Sundqvist was a key member of Blues’ 2018-19 Stanley Cup winning squad, playing more than 16 minutes a night in the postseason while chipping in four goals, nine points and 74 hits in 25 games.
Sundqvist ended up traded to the Detroit Red Wings leading up to the 2022 NHL trade deadline as the Blues ponied up to land defenseman Nick Leddy. The Wings, slipping out of playoff contention, flipped Sundqvist to the Minnesota Wild this past season, marking the second straight time he was traded on deadline day.
Sundqvist should slot into the Blues’ bottom six. Perhaps he’ll regain his role as a penalty killer. He wasn’t used much on the PK by Detroit or Minnesota.
Sundqvist has 355 NHL games to his name, spread over parts of eight seasons with four NHL teams. He’s picked up 50 goals, 123 points and 422 hits over that span.
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