The St. Louis Blues made a Wednesday night announcement to confirm their signing of veteran defenseman Ryan Suter. The deal is worth a base salary of $775,000 and could be worth up to $3 million with performance bonuses. This is the second free agency signing of a defenseman this summer. It’s not a flashy move by any means, but it could be a quality value move for the club. They’ve emphasized depth players with their offseason moves so far.
The Blues’ defensive makeup remains to be seen as the season is three months away, but another move likely has to be made with the number of blueliners already on the roster. The club currently has at least eight NHL-caliber defensemen with the additions of Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Suter this summer. I think this signing is solid and let’s get into the reasons why.
Suter Can Still Play at the NHL Level
At 39 years old, Suter showed he could still play at the NHL level last season. He played in 82 regular season games and 19 playoff games for the Dallas Stars in each of the last two seasons. He’s also played in every regular season game possible over the past four seasons. He’s both reliable and experienced, which is something the Blues have lacked in certain defensive areas over the past few seasons.
Despite his age, Suter can be of great use for a Blues’ defense that desperately needs better defenders. He had a better defensive unit around him in Dallas, but he’s still a solid player. He could get to 1,500 NHL games played in the 2024-25 season if he becomes a mainstay in the lineup. He had his best plus/minus in 2023-24 since 2016-17 with the Minnesota Wild. There’s clearly something left in the tank here and general manager Doug Armstrong recognizes that. If the club is non-competitive this season, I’m sure Suter will have some trade deadline value and that’s another element of this move that makes it make sense.
Could Suter Be Paired Alongside Parayko?
It’s unlikely that Suter will log over 20 minutes per game on this team, but I could see a scenario where head coach Drew Bannister wants to have Colton Parayko alongside him. Some of the best seasons and runs for him have been alongside a steady defensive defenseman. Suter is the closest to Jay Bouwmeester that Parayko could have since the Stanley Cup season in 2018-19. I could see a Suter-Parayko pairing becoming the shutdown duo for the 2024-25 Blues.
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It’s hard to envision a scenario where the coaching staff doesn’t at least try this pairing. There’s no reason to bring in Suter otherwise. I don’t suspect this is a strictly depth move overall. They believe he still has some solid play left in the tank, even at 39 years old.
Blues’ Defense Becomes More Interesting
The most interesting part about the Blues’ defense right now is the fact that another move must be made. Whether it’s trading Torey Krug, Nick Leddy, Tyler Tucker, or Justin Faulk, the club has too many defensemen. Ideally, the blue line features some combination of Parayko, Suter, Joseph, Matthew Kessel, Scott Perunovich, and whoever sticks around. There are some solid defensive defensemen in this group, but they still lack dynamic puck movers. That’s probably why they must have at least Krug, Faulk, or Perunovich in the lineup as puck-moving defensemen.
I’d be surprised if Armstrong doesn’t make another move to shift defensemen. The Suter move indicates that he will certainly be chatting with other clubs about who’s available. Don’t be surprised if the Blues make another move from the blue line before the 2024-25 season rolls around.
