St. Louis Blues Re-Sign Up & Coming Winger Before Arbitration

The St. Louis Blues have reached an agreement with Alexei Toropchenko, their last remaining RFA, before arbitration and signed him to a two-year, $1.25 million AAV deal.

Alexei Toropchenko and St. Louis have a pre-arbitration deal for 2x$1.25M
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 16, 2023

Toropchenko was and will continue to be a bottom-six winger this season for the Blues and the 24-year-old former fourth round pick is going into his third season in the NHL. Last season he really took a big step forward from scoring two goals in 28 games in his rookie season to 10 goals and 19 points in 69 games in 2022-23.

He is a very big player that is physical and a perfect fit on the fourth line for St. Louis. He is trusted more defensively as he will start more draws in the defensive zone and also spend some time out on the penalty kill. The Blues bridged him at a fair price and will hope to see more improvement as he continues to settle in at the NHL level. With his size and underrated talent, he could surprise some as there is opportunity for him to move up the lineup.