St. Louis Blues Sign Forward Colin Fraser to Two-Way Deal

The St. Louis Blues have agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way deal with forward and three-time Stanley Cup champion Colin Fraser.

The 29-year-old has played portions of eight NHL seasons and has registered 20 goals and 38 assists over 358 NHL games spread among the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings. Last year Fraser returned to the AHL for the first time since 2007-08, playing in 10 games with the Manchester Monarchs. He also played in 33 regular-season games with the Los Angeles Kings. He had no goals and two assists during that span.

It’s difficult to read too deeply into things because the Blues have made such a strong commitment to adding proven depth to their system this year, but it’s hard not to see this as a concerning development in the Blues’ negotiations with young forward Jaden Schwartz. All offseason, the assumption has been that the deal would get done in plenty of time for Schwartz to be ready for training camp. But with just a couple weeks to go until the Blues kick off their official workouts, things are looking more grim by the day, especially considering that Schwartz’s agent recently said the two parties are still fairly far apart on getting anything done.

If this situation is anything like Alex Pietrangelo’s contract ordeal last season, the pressure will turn up for the Blues once training camp starts if Schwartz is not on the ice for the first practice, as Pietrangelo was not a year ago. But if Schwartz insists on making $3 million dollars this year, as rumors have suggested he is insisting at the moment, it may be more difficult, as the Blues would have to find a way to clear cap space to accomodate the 22-year-old.

With that in mind, it’s nice to have a NHL-proven player like Fraser at the ready if necessary. Along with fellow offseason acquisitions Peter Mueller, Joakim Lindstrom, and a host of other veteran forwards who have decent NHL experience, Fraser should be part of an interesting competition for perhaps a spot on the opening roster, and after that, the first call up should the Blues sustain any injuries.