St. Louis Blues sign Jeremie Biakabutuka to three-year, entry-level contract

The St. Louis Blues have signed defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka to a three-year entry-level contract.

Biakabutuka, 21, signs with the Blues out of their development camp that he attended this summer. There is currently no confirmation as to how much the salary or cap hit on the contract is. With it being an entry-level contract, it is a two-way deal, although the details of his AHL salary are also unconfirmed at the moment.

Biakabutuka spent a majority of his season with the Charlottetown Islanders of the QMJHL, where he had 17 goals, 25 assists, and 42 points in 56 regular season games, along with four playoff games where he was held without a point as the Islanders were swept in the first round by the Quebec Remparts, who would go on to win both the QMJHL championship and the Memorial Cup. Biakabutuka also made his professional debut in 2021-22, playing three games for the Detroit Red Wings’ AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, where he was held without a point.

Biakabutuka is an undrafted free agent, so his contract with the Blues is his first NHL deal. He’s spent five seasons in the QMJHL with the Islanders, the Rimouski Oceanic, and the Val d’Or Foreurs, with his closest chance at winning a championship coming with the Islanders in the 2022 playoffs.

The Blues have had a significantly quieter offseason than anticipated, as many expected general manager Doug Armstrong to take advantage of their three first-round picks to add some players to their roster. Instead, they used all three picks in the draft, with their lone additions seeing them acquire Kevin Hayes from the Philadelphia Flyers for a sixth-round pick and signing Oskar Sundqvist to a league-minimum deal, and their lone signing of more than $1 million coming from re-signing Alexey Toropchenko. Part of the lack of moves is due to their lack of cap space, as they have only $293,571 available at the moment, so there likely won’t be any big moves unless they move on from some salary.