St. Louis Blues sign Beau Bennett to one-year, one-way deal

The St. Louis Blues’ forward corps got a jolt with the signing of Beau Bennett.

The St. Louis Blues will have a lot of talented players–Ivan Barbashev, Zach Sanford, Oskar Sundqvist, perhaps Tage Thompson–competing for open spots on their third and fourth lines this fall, but they were lacking veteran experience among that group after trading Ryan Reaves, losing David Perron in the expansion draft, losing Patrik Berglund for several months due to shoulder surgery, and likely letting Scottie Upshall walk in free agency.

They were able to add a jolt of veteran experience on Saturday, signing right wing Beau Bennett to a one-year contract worth $650,000. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Jeremy Rutherford confirmed that Bennett received a one-way deal, so the 25-year-old should have a pretty good shot to crack the Blues’ NHL roster this fall.

Bennett has spent parts of six seasons in the NHL, scoring 24 goals with 40 assists over 194 games. He spent his first five years with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he saw 21 games of postseason action while wearing the black and gold, collecting two goals and four assists in those contests. Last season, he moved on to the New Jersey Devils and had a breakout season, achieving career highs in games played (65), goals (8), and assists (11).

Bennett has a chance to replace David Perron as the Blues’ primary third-line right wing, but he could also be a rotational player on the fourth line, filling the right wing spot against quicker, more skillful opponents while fellow free-agent signee Chris Thorburn gets into the lineup against bigger, more physical teams.

Next: Blues sign Chris Thorburn to two-year deal

The Blues now have four players on their roster who previously saw action for the Penguins: Bennett, Thorburn, Sundqvist, and Robert Bortuzzo.