Earlier this month, the St. Louis Blues acquired centre Alexandre Texier from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 24-year old may have a future with the Blues.
Texier’s Role This Season Following Career Year
Texier will begin his first year with the Blues after having a career year in Columbus last season. The young centre scored 12 goals and added 30 assists. Furthermore, Texier played in 78 games. His previous career high before was 36 games. Texier also emerged as a two-way forward.
Texier’s role with the Blues this season may depend on the health of veteran centre Oskar Sundqvist. Sundqvist is coming off an ACL injury. General Manager Doug Armstrong is confident Sundqvist will be ready sooner rather than later. However, if Sundqvist is not ready for when the season starts, Texier can start as the fourth-line centre. Furthermore, once Sundqvist returns, Texier can slide to the wing.
The Blues gave Texier a 2-year extension after trading for him. That suggests the Blues are interested in playing him. Texier may have to be flexible and move around a bit, but it does seem the Blues want to see him play. Coming off a career year, it will be interesting to see if Texier can repeat that success. Furthermore, the Blues will certainly be watching to see if he continues to develop as a two-way forward.
Texier’s Future With The Blues
Control What Can Be Controlled
If Texier wants a future with the Blues, he needs to continue to develop as a player and build on past success. Doing so will keep him on the Blues radar. If Texier cannot take care of his own business, then that will guarantee he does not have a place in the Blues future. It is a cliche to say that someone has to work hard for something. However, coming off a career year, Texier needs to show last year was not just a flash in the pan. He needs to show it can be sustained and built upon.
The Depth Chart Will Have An Opening For Him
Another newly-acquired centre, Radek Faksa, is a free agent after this season. It is unlikely the Blues will re-sign him. Even without Faksa, the Blues will have four centres on the roster. Robert Thomas, signed to a long-term contract, will centre the first line. While not a certainty, the newly-extended Pavel Buchnevich could centre the second line. Sundqvist still has a year left on his contract, so he will centre the third or fourth line. Therefore, Texier will be able to centre the remaining line.
As with any team, the Blues love being able to have an established centre at each line. The first moves they made to build their 2019 Stanley Cup team was acquire centres. The Blues had traded for Brayden Schenn and Sundqvist in the 2017 off-season. In the 2018 off-season, the Blues traded for Ryan O’Reilly and signed Tyler Bozak.
The Blues would love to have their four centres for the 2025-26 season before the 2024-25 season even ends. This could also be why they extended Texier after trading him.
The Blues Need A True Two-Way Forward
The Blues have forwards who play defence at a relatively effective rate. Sundqvist, Thomas, Buchnevich, and Brandon Saad are names that come to mind. However, the Blues have not had a true two-way forward since they traded O’Reilly and Ivan Barbashev.
Texier will not score the goals that two-way forwards like O’Reilly, Barbashev, and David Backes did. However, he can still be a plus player in the offensive zone. The 2019 Blues fourth line showed how valuable it was to be able to move the puck out of the defensive zone, followed by forechecking in the offensive zone to generate some pressure. Texier does not have to be a 20-goal scorer to be valuable to the Blues. A two-way forward who can score 10-15 goals a season would be perfect for the Blues.
For the Blues, They Will Need To Exercise Patience
Two-way forwards sometimes develop a little longer than others. As such, the Blues will need to be aware of that. However, the extension they gave Texier could be part of their plan to maintain maintenance. The Blues are unlikely to be serious contenders this year or next year. That is two years for Texier to further develop his game. Furthermore, once the final year of the contract comes up, if it is apparent Texier is not who the Blues need, they may be able to easily trade him.
Does Texier Have A Future With The Blues?
The answer is yes. Texier does have a future. The situation has aligned itself to where Texier has the opportunity to be a constant in the Blues lineup. The games have to be played to know for sure, but it is possible Texier will be a Blue for the foreseeable future.
Main Photo: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
