The Blues handled a big piece of their upcoming business by agreeing to terms with defenseman Cam Fowler on a three-year extension with a $6.1 million average annual value.
Fowler, 33, was set to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, but will instead be under contract in St. Louis through the 2028-29 season. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said he spoke with Fowler’s agent, Pat Brisson, over the summer about approaching extension talks during training camp.
At that point, Armstrong and GM-in-waiting Alexander Steen sold Fowler on their vision for the Blues moving forward in the coming years. Fowler’s extension solidifies the future of the top four with Fowler, Colton Parayko, Philip Broberg and Logan Mailloux either signed through 2028-29 or under team control.
“It was a situation where I looked at what we need right now as the Blues organization what he provides,” Armstrong said. “Obviously, there’s risk on all contracts, but he’s such a good skater, I think he’ll the term of this contract with his legs. I think having him and Parayko now as veteran guys on our left and right side, we have younger players in their 22- or 23-(year old) area like Broberg and Mailloux.
“We have younger players behind that. We believe we have a good balance of this contract is not going to hold anyone out, but it’s also not going to force us to rush anybody.”
The Blues acquired Fowler and a 2027 fourth-round pick last year from Anaheim, sending a 2027 second-round pick and minor-league defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka to the Ducks. The Ducks also agreed to retain $2.5 million of Fowler’s $6.5 million cap hit, so he counts $4 million on the Blues books this season.
At the time of the trade, Fowler agreed to waive his no-trade clause to accept a trade to St. Louis. Now, he’s agreed to stay in St. Louis for the next four seasons.
“I sort of shared my vision of this year’s team, my vision of when Alex takes over and then I had Alex talk to him and share his vision to make sure it was something that he could see the value of what we’re trying to build,” Armstrong said. “I talked about our younger players because at this age, he’s coming from an environment where he went through a retool and we want to tell him that no one knows how the season is going to transpire but we’re not looking to incorporate younger players at all costs.
“We’re trying to balance adding young players to a veteran team that can win.”
After his arrival in St. Louis, Fowler became one of the most productive defensemen in the NHL. From Dec. 14 until the end of the season, Fowler had 36 points, tied for ninth-most among NHL defensemen. In the playoffs, he had 10 points in seven games, fifth-most in the NHL despite St. Louis playing one round.
Fowler ran the Blues’ top power-play unit, with two goals and six assists on the man-advantage. He also paired with Parayko on the top defensive pair, providing Parayko with a mobile, offensive partner to complement his defensive skillset.
“They both can excellent feet, they can both skate and they have a massive wingspan, so they kill a lot of plays down low with their stick,” Armstrong said. “They have the ability to get to loose pucks. Moving forward, you have the size of Broberg that can do that, and Mailloux can do that. I think having reach and skating ability is an asset. Now we have four guys, some of them under contract, some of them restricted free agents. So we’re in a good spot.”
The next bit of business in St. Louis regards last summer’s prize finds: Broberg and Dylan Holloway.
Both Broberg and Holloway will be restricted free agents in the summer, and they’ve been eligible for extensions since July 1. Armstrong said he viewed their situations different from Fowler since they will be RFAs.
“I’ve talked with those players, told them that our initial thrust will be with our unrestricteds with Cam,” Armstrong said. “We’ll get to those guys in December. There’s no rush with that. We’re going to try to get them signed as quick as we can. If not, they’re restricted free agents. We’ll make sure that we leave enough space available to get those guys signed, the cap’s going up. It’s nice to know now with guys signed what we can do moving forward.”
In games at Dallas and Columbus, Carbonneau had a goal and a primary assist, factoring in on both of the Blues’ goals this preseason.
The good news for the Blues is that many of the same pieces on the power play are back.
Event likely to take place when the team he now broadcasts, the LA Kings, are in town on Oct. 21.
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Matthew DeFranks | Post-Dispatch
Hockey reporter
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