Blues sign Jonatan Berggren to one-year contract

The St. Louis Blues did not issue a qualifying offer to Jonatan Berggren ahead of Monday’s tender deadline, converting the would-be restricted free agent into a pending unrestricted free agent.

But in the end, the Blues elected to hold on to him, signing Berggren to a one-year contract with a $2 million salary cap hit.

Berggren, a 25-year-old Swedish forward, was a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft at No. 33 overall by the Detroit Red Wings, and he just completed his fifth season of NHL action.

The Blues acquired him via waiver claim from the Red Wings last December, and after making the move to St. Louis, he posted 16 points on 6 goals and 10 assists in 36 games played, giving him a total for the season of 22 points in 51 games split between the two clubs.

That point-per-game rate of .43 marked the second-best output of his career, trailing only his rookie campaign in 2022-23 in which he notched 28 points in 67 games.

Berggren will provide quality forward depth to a Blues organization that is in transition this summer, as longtime general manager Doug Armstrong passes the torch to former team legend Alexander Steen.

The duo has already been quite active this summer, trading Jordan Kyrou to the Washington Capitals for a return centered around a first-round pick and winger Connor McMichael.

Then, with four first-round picks in hand during last weekend’s NHL Draft, St. Louis shipped two of them to the Anaheim Ducks to land center Mason McTavish, adding some size at the center position behind Robert Thomas.

The Blues are looking to bounce back from a 37-33-12 campaign that saw them finish four points behind the playoff cut line in what was a weaker-than-normal Western Conference.

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