On the surface, the fit between the Blues and defenseman Ryan Suter did not seem to match up.
Already with eight defensemen on one-way contracts, the Blues added a ninth in signing Suter to a one-year contract with a league-minimum base salary of $775,000 and $2.225 million in potential performance bonuses. Suter hasn’t won a Stanley Cup in his 19-year NHL career and just spent the last three seasons playing for Cup-contending Dallas but will now join a club that has missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons.
So it’s natural for the issue of compatibility to be broached.
“The guys that I’ve talked to, they were like, ‘Hey, we’re not satisfied with what’s been going on here the last couple years. We know we’ve got to be better,’ †Suter said in a phone interview on Friday. “They’re motivated, just like I am and that’s why I think it’s such a good fit.
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“Talking with those guys, their attitudes towards what the last couple years have been and how they have a little something to prove. When I was talking to these guys, they were like, ‘Hey, our fans deserve better. We need to go and produce and play the way they expect.’ I was so impressed by how they handled it in our conversations. Those guys, they get it.â€
Suter, who will turn 40 years old in January, was bought out of the final season of his contract with the Stars. It was the second time he has been bought out in his career, as Minnesota also bought him out in 2021.
In 2024-25, Suter will be paid by ºüÀêÊÓƵ ($775,000 plus bonuses), Dallas ($1.433 million) and Minnesota ($833,333).
The question now becomes how does Suter’s addition change the makeup of the Blues defensive corps?
Suter did not want to speak much about the role the Blues talked to him about filling, other than to say, “I think it’s going to be a good role. I’m excited about it. That was a big part of the reason that I wanted to play for ºüÀêÊÓƵ.â€
A look at the Blues depth chart reveals a natural potential partner for Suter to play with: Justin Faulk.
After a resurgent season from both Nick Leddy and Colton Parayko, perhaps the Blues will opt to keep their top pair intact. ºüÀêÊÓƵ and coach Drew Bannister liked what they saw from Torey Krug when he was paired with Matthew Kessel last year. So that leaves Faulk available, with other left-handed options Scott Perunovich, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Tyler Tucker also in the fold.
Faulk was one of three Blues that Suter said he spoke to on the phone, along with fellow alternate captain Robert Thomas and captain Brayden Schenn.
This season, Suter will be on track to be just the fifth defenseman since 2014 to play in the NHL at 40 years old, joining Mark Giordano, Zdeno Chara, Sergei Gonchar and Kimmo Timonen. Why did he want to return to the NHL instead of retiring?
“I knew that I had a really good year,†Suter said. “I played well with the role that they had me in, I did what they wanted. So I knew that I still had it. For me, right when it happened, in my mind, I want to play. It came down to, ‘Take a deep breath. What does the family think of it?’ Are they on board with that? Because if they weren’t on board with it, I think it gets to be pretty difficult to go do. Just how it ended, I am very motivated and looking forward to next season.â€
In 2023-24 with Dallas, Suter’s role shifted. He was removed from the power play entirely after quarterbacking the Stars’ second unit his first two seasons in Dallas. After the Stars acquired Chris Tanev at the trade deadline, Suter became the team’s fifth-most used defenseman both overall and at 5 on 5.
In the playoffs, Suter largely filled a bottom-pair role and his 18:56 of ice time per game during the regular season was the lowest for Suter since he was a rookie in 2005-06.
“I thought big picture,†Suter said of accepting his role. “Heck, we’ve got a chance to go win a Stanley Cup and if that’s how these coaches want to play me and how the want to use me, I’m fine with that. I’m all in, whatever it takes. Obviously, we came up a little short, so that sucks. My mindset always the last couple years was focus on being the best at what they want you to do. That’s kind of my mindset now moving forward.â€
Suter had one year remaining on his contract with the Stars with a $3.65 million cap hit, and when Dallas bought it out, Suter became the second player in NHL history to be bought out twice.
“We were bummed as a family,†Suter said. “We really enjoyed our time there. Our kids were in a really good place. We have four kids, and the older two were pretty involved in youth hockey, so they were pretty devastated to have to leave that. The schooling was great for the kids. You’re settled in, and then this happens. That’s part of pro sports, the crappy part about it, the business side of it.â€
While he no longer skates at the same speed — his top skating speed and bursts over 20 miles an hour were both in the bottom quarter of NHL defensemen, according to NHL Edge data — Suter still brings a physical presence to the net-front. In the 2023 playoffs, he was a difference maker for Dallas against the Wild, and he deals out his share of cross-checks in front of the crease.
Throughout his time in the Central Division with Nashville, Minnesota and Dallas, Suter has become familiar with ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ reputation as a not only a passionate hockey city but also a sports town.
“I had never experienced that welcome mat like ºüÀêÊÓƵ put out,†Suter said. “Almost every front office person has texted me, reached out to me. All the staff members, the team, it’s just been first class.â€