St. Louis Blues Sign Rookie Defenseman To Extension

He was promoted from the AHL once again just three days ago, and his stay in St. Louis this time around has been a financially rewarding one for Blues defenseman Matt Kessel, as he's been signed to a new two-year, one-way contract extension.

We've signed Matthew Kessel to a two-year, one-way contract extension. #stlblues

DETAILS ➡️ https://t.co/0w5w64ucgY

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 13, 2024

It's an $800,000 AAV for Kessel, who has made himself a nice home on a defensive pairing with Torey Krug. 

"Obviously with the injury to [Justin] Faulk, bringing (Kessel) up and then putting them together, they seem to have some chemistry and we saw that again last night," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said Tuesday, per The Hockey News. "Sometimes that just happens. Guys play well off each other and they read off each other. They seem to have a good fit and comfortable to play off each other. They've had success together."

Now, after bouncing up and down between the AHL and St. Louis, it appears that Kessel will be with the big club to stay. 

The former 5th-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft has three points in 23 games with the Blues this season, while averaging over 17 minutes of ice time a night. In 34 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL, he had seven points and a plus-1 rating. Last season with the T-Birds, he notched 33 points in 71 games. 

Photo: Jeff Le-USA TODAY Sports