The Blues filled a need in their bottom-six by trading for forward Alexandre Texier, and signed him to a two-year contract extension.
Texier, 24, was scheduled to become a restricted free agent on Monday but the Blues instead traded a 2025 fourth-round pick to the Blue Jackets. Texier's extension carries a $2.1 million cap hit.
Last season, Texier had a career-high 30 points in 78 games while averaging 15:11 of ice time across 78 games. It was his first season back in the NHL after taking a leave of absence for 2022-23.
While Texier has played center before, he was primarily a winger last season with the Blue Jackets, and he was one of the team's most-used penalty killers. He averaged 1:45 of shorthanded time on ice per game, the third-most among Columbus forwards.
With Texier in the fold and signed for the next two seasons, he fits the Blues' plans in multiple ways. He's a young former second-round pick that could fit the team's retooling timeline. When his contract is up in 2026, he will still be an RFA for future general manager Alexander Steen to re-sign.
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ºüÀêÊÓƵ already has 10 forwards contracted to return (Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn, Pavel Buchnevich, Brandon Saad, Kevin Hayes, Oskar Sundqvist, Alexey Toropchenko, Jake Neighbours and Nathan Walker), though Sundqvist is recovering from knee surgery and Walker spent a chunk of last season in the AHL.
Add in the re-signing of RFA Nikita Alexandrov and the potential inclusions of Zack Bolduc and Dalibor Dvorsky (or Zach Dean) on entry-level contracts, and the Blues have a forward group that appears nearly full.
With Texier at $2.1 million, the Blues have $11.89 million available in cap space, not counting Alexandrov or the potential entry-level contracts.
His indefinite leave of absence from Columbus was granted in March 2022 after Texier "experienced personal losses of people very close to him and our priority right now is to support him in every way possible," former Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a statement at the time.
Texier remained in Europe during the 2022-23 season, playing for the ZSC Lions in Switzerland.
"During the past year, I have experienced some personal issues and challenges and I feel I need to be close to my family at this time," Texier said in a statement in the fall of 2022. "I have love and respect for the city of Columbus, the Blue Jackets, and the fans as everyone has always treated me first-class. I truly appreciate the support, help and empathy I have received from team management, the coaching staff, doctors, trainers and my teammates. This was a hard decision, but it is the best one for me right now."