Left Wing Magnus Paajarvi has re-signed with the St. Louis Blues. He will enter his fifth season with the team after beginning his career with the Edmonton Oilers. The Sweden native was the tenth overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Paajarvi was traded to St. Louis for David Perron after the 2012 season. The Blues will hope his new contact brings improvement to Paajarvi’s game.
The contract is for one year and $800,000.
The #stlblues have re-signed forward Magnus Paajarvi to a one-year, one-way deal worth $800,000. https://t.co/dnin26X5x6
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) June 29, 2017
Magnus Paajarvi Re-Signs With St. Louis
After being a highly regarded prospect before entering the NHL, Paajarvi has greatly disappointed. He had a promising rookie season of 15 goals and over 30 points, but since then has not come near those numbers. Paajarvi has not been able to get 10 goals or 20 points since. As a bottom liner and more of a defensive forward, these numbers would be acceptable. However, Paajarvi was a first round pick with tons of talent and expectation; Many thought he would be able to use his great speed and desirable size to develop into a mightily productive top six forward. But thus far in his career, Paajarvi has only been able to be a depth forward with good two-way play but a lack of scoring.
Paajarvi has not played in a full NHL season yet as his inconsistent play has seen him often scratched or playing in the AHL. This past season, he spent most of his time in Chicago with the Blues’ AHL team. There he was asked to rehabilitate some injuries and develop his game to become more NHL ready. Due to injuries with the Blues, he ended up finishing the season with the club with 32 games and 13 points, including eight goals. He also appeared in the playoffs for eight games and recorded three points. Paajarvi’s strong finish to his season provided the Blues with optimism that he may be able to rejuvenate his career. He still possesses a large amount of talent and potential and at only 26 years old has time to improve.
This new contract for Paajarvi comes after signing two one-year deals worth $700,000 for the past two seasons. Before those, Paajarvi signed a four year, $4.5 million dollar entry level contract and then a two year, $2.5 million dollar contract. The Blues will now look for him to be a more consistent offensive contributor and work to fulfill his potential.
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