MARYLAND
HEIGHTS, Mo. -- When
the initial floodgates to free agency opened on July 1 and NHL teams
had their checkbooks out, sometimes there would always be someone
that would fall through the cracks, perhaps not making a hasty
decision and wanting to take some time to contemplate one’s next
destination.
For
Pius Suter, it was obvious he was not returning to the Vancouver
Canucks, so that meant searching for the next fit despite putting
up a career-high in goals (25) and points (46) for the Canucks last
season.
Maybe
it wasn’t the term he would have preferred while shopping through
the market, but Suter knew the St. Louis Blues would be the perfect
fit after he and his agent Georges Mueller spoke to general manager
Doug Armstrong.
A
two-year, $8.25 million contract ($4.125 million average annual
value) was consummated rather quickly and the 29-year-old found
himself with a team in dire need of a center iceman who found a
scoring touch but is known for his reliability defensively, as a
penalty killer and just a fundamentally, sound player.
“I
did the homework,” Suter
said.
“When I talked to them, I had a great feeling what they seen of
me
as a player. It’s also a team that went to the playoffs last year
so it’s exciting and you want to help them take another step. …
In the end, you put in the work. You can only control so much. You
just make sure when you show up, you do your thing and you help the
team win.
“They’re
well-organized. They play hard, they’re structured. As you can see
in the playoffs, just a really good, overall team. They know what
they’re doing. I just felt like it was a good fit and hopefully I
can help them go another step.”
It
was obvious the Blues needed a center, or two, and identified Suter
as a target, when Armstrong said when the Blues signed the five-year
veteran on July 2 that they
like Suter’s versatility.
It’s
not a player that is going to woo and wow you, but it is someone that
will dedicate himself to a team concept and fit a piece that was
obviously missing.
“You
can just tell he’s reliable,” Blues
captain Brayden Schenn said of Suter.
“Practicing is always tough because everyone’s in the perfect
position at all times. On majority of days, everyone looks good.
Where guys obviously separate themselves is the game. Obviously
looking forward to playing with him and he’s obviously a huge piece
for us that’s just going to play 200 feet for us. The more of those
players we have, the better.”
Suter,
who began his career with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020-21 as an
undrafted free agent but had 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) 55
games before joining the Detroit Red Wings the following season, also
on a two-year contract, then signing with the Canucks – also for
two years.
“Everybody
looks at long term,” Suter said. “You see the market. You find a
new team, see how it fits. It’s just one of those business things,
right? In general, it seemed everyone was comfortable on the shorter
side.”
The
Zurich, Switzerland native has spent his entire NHL career proving
himself, and he will do so again with the Blues, a team he scored his second NHL hat trick against Jan. 24, 2024. He’s not someone
characterized with a tremendous amount of speed, but at the end of
the night, is someone that finds a way to get the job done.
“His
hockey sense. You can tell on the penalty kill, he’s going to make
our penalty kill better,” Blues
coach Jim Montgomery said.
“His stick is always in the right spot, he knows where he has to
be. Even though he’s never been called the fastest guy in the
world, he hits holes at the right time. We’ve seen that for years
with the Ryan O’Reillys and the Patrice Pergerons, people that
aren’t fast but they never get caught on breakaways because they
know where the pucks are going before anybody else.
“He’s
a player that I think makes those around him better whether he’s in
an offensive role or defensive role because he just plays to his
strengths. … I’ve been surprised how quickly he’s picked up all
of our … their D-zone was similar to our D-zone, so I expected
that, but I haven’t seen him make a mistake in the neutral zone or
on the forecheck or the stuff that we were working on today, our
tracking. It seems like because of his hockey brain, he just adapts.
I think if the system makes sense, he’s going to be able to play
quickly. Hopefully it’s a sign of that our systems that we’re
implementing make sense.”
Suter
made the adjustment to the NHL after spending five seasons with his
hometown ZSC Lions in Zurich. Being 5-foot-11, 172 pounds, Suter has
had to find his way and navigate the ups and downs of transitioning
to the NHL and realized by doing that, his numbers, ice time (career
high 17:21 last season) and opportunities would eventually increase
and improve.
“I
think around the boards, battles, 1-on-1s, those kind of things and
shooting, shooting well again,” Suter said. “I had some time to
really work on it. I felt like after that first year, I needed to get
that kick back a little bit again and it’s been there again. I
think it’s more on the confidence thing of where it’s going when
I shoot it. Overall you learn the league, you learn the players you
play against, what’s going on in the day-to-day, the travel. It’s
a huge difference from the way it usually happened. You kind of find
your way around. As anybody, you get older, you know your body well,
you know what you need this today or that. It just helps you every
year more.
“You’ve
just got to play to your strengths. Just play smart defensively and
be dangerous offensively and do all the little things right. Then
it’s just kind of play a team game and play to win. The rest will
kind of fall in place. One thing is you don’t want to overthink it.
You just got to play to your strength. You can’t play something
you’re not. That’s why they usually feel like on the team you can
help.”
Prior
to last season, Suter’s goal scoring seasons were 14, 15, 14 and
14; he had 138 shots, second-highest of his five seasons in the NHL
but his shooting percentage was a career-best 18.1 percent.
“It
helps pretty much to play all the games,” Suter,
who played in 81 games, said.
“I think I took advantage of the chances I had, especially in the
slot where I could get a couple extra ones in. That’s kind of what
happened, buried those, put them in instead of missing a little bit,
hit the post or something like that and I think that was the
difference in terms of goals. … Things fell into place and it felt
good at the start of the year and kept going. I had a great summer
and I had a feeling it was going to be great. The year before too,
just missed a couple games with an injury.”
Suter
doesn’t have the greatest face-off numbers (45.9 percent career)
but will work well with assistant coach Steve Ott in that department
but will be a solid piece of a puzzle trying to improve a penalty
kill. He was past of Vancouver’s third-ranked penalty kill last
season (82.6 percent); the Blues were tied for 27th
(74.2 percent).
“We’ll
see how it goes. You take pride in it,” Suter said. “It can
really help to give momentum. At least you’ll have the chance in
the game in those big moments. As a group, it’s four guys in a
role. You’ve just got to find a way. Guys are going to make plays.
You just don’t want to give the one right in the middle downtown.
You just take pride in it. It’s always a big part of the game.”
Whether
Suter plays second-line center – that’s where he was with Dylan
Holloway and Jordan Kyrou Tuesday at practice – or third-line
center will be up to the coaches. He doesn’t really care. All he
cares about is helping the Blues take that next step.
“You
see how good they were and that first round last year,” Suter said
of the Blues. “You just try and build on that. You get the feeling
it’s really good players, a lot of good players, a big roster. You
can tell mindset-wise, a tight-knit group. Everybody here knows it’s
about winning and nothing else really matters.”
Jimmy Snuggerud Has Chance To Be Next Special Player For St. Louis BluesMARYLAND
HEIGHTS, Mo. -- When the St.
Louis Blues brought in
Jimmy Snuggerud last season, it was the
perfect storm.
News And Notes From Day 6 Of St. Louis Blues Training Camp
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- In
Day 6 of St. Louis Blues training camp, the lines and defensive
pairings on the ice Tuesday at Centene Community Ice Center served as
a glimpse of what the opening night lineup could look like on Oct. 9.
