Blues sign Nick Bjugstad to two-year contract

The St. Louis Blues announced Tuesday that the club has signed unrestricted free agent center Nick Bjugstad to a two-year contract that carries a $1.75-million average annual value.

Bjugstad joins the Blues following a single season with the Central Division rival Utah Mammoth where through 66 appearances in 2024-25 he finished with eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points coupled with 16 penalty minutes and a minus-two rating while averaging more than 12 minutes of time on ice per game.

Originally chosen 19th overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2010 NHL Draft, the 32-year-old Minneapolis native has since seen 760 career contests with the Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, the former Arizona Coyotes, and Utah in which he has collected 157 goals and 173 assists for 330 points. With the Panthers in 2017-18, Bjugstad registered a career high of 49 points counting 19 goals and 30 assists coming in 82 games. Bjugstad has also added six goals and two assists for eight points through 27 appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Bjugstad is the latest move by the Blues and general manager Doug Armstrong who earlier Tuesday dealt center Zac Bolduc to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Logan Mailloux. In 63 appearances last season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, Mailloux put up 12 goals and 21 assists for 33 points. The 22-year-old native of Belle River, Ont., also added two goals and two assists for four points through seven showings with the Canadiens. Mailloux was originally chosen 31st overall by the Canadiens in the 2021 NHL Draft.

The Blues closed out the 2024-25 season with a 44-30-8 record to secure the second wildcard seed in the Western Conference with 96 points. The Blues later fell to the Presidents’ Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.