St. Louis Blues forward Alexander Steen is enjoying the best start to a season in his eight-year NHL career, and on Wednesday, the team announced that it had reached a three-year contract extension worth $17.4 million with its top goal scorer.
Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada has reported that Steen’s new deal also includes a no-trade clause.
The 29-year-old winger was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in July, but given his importance to the Blues’ offense, it’s no surprise that the two sides were able to reach a contract agreement before the start of free agency. Since the end of 2013 season, St. Louis has re-signed several of its best players to extensions, including defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk, Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo.
Steen leads the Blues with 22 goals (tied for second-most in NHL) and 36 points in 33 games. He also has five power-play goals, five game-winning goals, 112 shots on goal and a plus/minus rating of 13. His physical presence and two-way skill set makes him a perfect fit in head coach Ken Hitchcock‘s defensive-minded style of hockey.
St. Louis occupies second place in the Central division with 48 points.
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