According to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Blues have agreed to terms with RFA forward Chris Stewart -- a one-year contract worth $3 million.
The contract represents an ever-so-slight pay bump for Stewart, who made $2.875 million annually on his last contract. It’s not much, but the fact the 24-year-old received a raise at all is noteworthy.
(On the other hand, it could be seen as a pay descrease. Stewart’s actual salary last season was $3.25 million.)
A dynamic power forward that scored 56 goals from 2009-11, Stewart was a major disappointment for the Blues in 2001-12, scoring just 15 goals and 30 points in 79 games. Things went further south in the postseason as head coach Ken Hitchcock twice made him a healthy scratch -- once against San Jose, once against Los Angeles.
The former first-round pick was originally the centerpiece of the trade that saw Erik Johnson go to Colorado, but Stewart has since been overcome by Kevin Shattenkirk as the real gem of the deal.
Speaking of that deal....Jay McClement, who Colorado acquired along with Johnson, appears to be done in Denver. The Avs have decided not to retain the impending UFA, meaning he’ll go to market on July 1.