Blues re-sign Carl Gunnarsson for three years, $8.7 million
The St. Louis Blues have signed defenseman Carl Gunnarsson to a three-year contract extension worth $8.7 million. The team announced the move Friday evening.
St. Louis picked up the 6-foot-2, 196-pound Gunnarsson two summers ago in a trade that sent Roman Polak to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 29-year-old Gunnarsson is in the final season of a three-year $9.45 million contract and was slated to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
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Coming into Friday’s action, Gunnarsson averaged 17:36 of ice-time. He had two goals and five assists in 62 games played.
According to War on Ice, Gunnarsson has a minus-4.6 CF% Rel and a 49.0 CF%. This means the Blues hold onto the puck less than their opponent when Gunnarsson is on the ice. It also means the Blues possess the puck less than the rest of their team with Gunnarsson on the ice.
The Blues still need to re-sign captain and pending unrestricted free agent David Backes ($4.5 million per-year), along with forward Jaden Schwartz, who is expected to get a raise from his two-year $4.7 million contract.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
