MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Jimmy Snuggerud isn’t going anywhere and won’t be going anywhere for a while.
Despite not being a part of a flurry of NHL players to get in long-term contracts that could go as long as eight years by the end of the Collective Bargain Agreement that ended on Tuesday at 11 p.m. (CT) before the new CBA kicked in that only offers max contracts at seven years, the first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues isn’t concerned about not getting something done by Tuesday.
“No, not at all,” Snuggerud said Thursday after Blues opened training camp for the 2026-27 season. “I think there’s certain ways teams do things and every player is different honestly. Every guy goes through talks and what not. Nothing really occurred and I’m just happy to keep going here. Like I said, it’ll all take care of itself. I’m not too concerned with it.”
Snuggerud, who had 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) in 70 games in his first full NHL season, enters this season in the final year of his entry-level contract and will be quite the bargain at a $950,000 cap hit that includes a $1.55 million average annual value. But what about beyond? We won’t speculate, but it’s a known factor that the 22-year-old, who was recently engaged, will get a nice, hefty payday. Depending on what the term and dollars come to eventually, Snuggerud has no desire to get a deal done with anyone but the team that drafted him and he most certainly sees himself here for the long term as part of the core.
“For sure. I want to be here,” Snuggerud said. “I would love to be here for as long as I can. I love this city. I love everything about it. It’s calm, people are really nice. Fans are crazy and the home games are fun. When I say it’s going to take care of itself, I think just come to the rink every day and try to do my best as I possibly can. Obviously I would love to be here for as long as possible. I love what we’re doing, the direction has a purpose.”
There were a flurry of deals done on Tuesday by other teams, including Cutter Gauthier (six years, $13.5 million AAV) with the Anaheim Ducks; Drake Batherson (eight years, $10.75 million AAV) with the Ottawa Senators; Ryan Leonard (eight years, $10.75 million AAV) and Justin Sourdif (eight years, $6.35 million AAV) with the Washington Capitals; Luke Evangelista (five years, $7.25 million) with the New Jersey Devils, and Alex Newhook (four years, $5.55 million AAV) with the Montreal Canadiens.
Batherson, Leonard and Sourdif took the max eight years and got their payday now, some didn’t, and in Snuggerud’s case, he preferred to wait it out. And that’s OK with both the player and the team.
It doesn’t mean the Blues aren’t looking at the dynamics and what’s been going on around the league.
“We spend a lot of time discussing all these things internally and what the options are, but at the end of the day, we’re back to our philosophy on how we want to approach it,” Blues general manager Alex Steen said. “We do our best to continually communicate with the players and the representatives. We don’t want our players guessing anything so we keep them as informed as we can and we go from there.”
President of hockey operations Doug Armstrong signed two players coming out of his entry-level contract to long-term deals immediately: Vladimir Tarasenko (eight years, $60 million, $7.5 million AAV) in 2015 and Alex Pietrangelo (seven years, $45.5 million, $6.5 million AAV) in 2013.
“Yeah we've kept an eye on everything that's going on,” Armstrong said. “Our belief all along has been 'trust but verify' on our players. Our philosophy isn't like philosophies of other groups and I'm not saying what's right or wrong -- to rub the crystal ball and to hope things might happen and work out.
“Since 2010, I think we've had two players come out of entry level that signed long-term extensions and that was Tarasenko and Pietrangelo, both second-team All-Stars after their third year. So yeah, my belief and I've shared it with Alex (Steen) and he agrees with me, we trust these guys. We want them to get rich. We want to pay them. We just want to make sure that they've earned that paycheck. So we're willing to allow them to play like we did last year with Broberg and Holloway.”
The Blues signed Broberg to a six-year, $48 million extension ($8 million AAV) on Jan. 10, then extended Holloway on May 1 for five years at $38.75 million ($7.75 million AAV), opting to go for shorter term than the max.
So for Snuggerud, his next contract could fall anywhere in the five to six, and up to seven years, and if making a comparable, he could very well fall into a category that Leonard got in Washington. Just let the process play out and it will get done.
“Come to the rink every single day and do my job,” Snuggerud said. “I’d say it’s there, but I’m not thinking about it. I think I can speak for everyone in this room. We just want to win games and contracts take care of themselves if you win games. I think everyone in here wants to do it. There’s a lot of guys other than me that are going through the same thing. I’d say it’s there, but I just want to win.”
And if you think Snuggerud will want to go for the fame and fortune, think again. He’s not a big city guy coming from Minneapolis. St. Louis is his style of place to live.
“Growing up in the Midwest, it kind of has that Midwest feel,” Snuggerud said of St. Louis. “There’s not too much going on. It’s relaxed, it’s calm and it’s nice to have that. You don’t really get that everywhere in other cities. Kind of that homey feeling that you get. When you get into the games, the fans are unbelievable and they care so much about us.
“I’m just kind of that low-key, relaxed guy.”

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