St. Louis Blues: Can Oskar Sundqvist Repeat His Breakout Year

St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist was a revelation for the team during their Stanley Cup run, but will he be able to duplicate his success next season?

When the St. Louis Blues acquired Oskar Sundqvist from the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 23, 2017, it was not well received by Blues fans despite receiving a first-round pick from Pittsburgh.

Sundqvist’s arrival meant the departure of long-time fan favorite Ryan Reaves. The Blues also sent a second-round pick to the Penguins, while St. Louis received a first-rounder that was used to draft Klim Kostin.

The Blues needed some kind of kick start to an offseason after they had gone to the Western Conference Finals. However, with the departure of Reaves, and a career AHLer coming back in return, St. Louis struck gold with the Sundqvist trade.

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The Swedish forward played in just 18 NHL games for the Penguins before being traded to St. Louis, but in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Sundqvist netted a 20-goal season in 2016-17.

The goal-scoring potential was always there with Sundqvist, which is why Doug Armstrong and the Blues wanted to acquire him, even if it meant losing a world-class heckler like Reaves.

His start in St. Louis did not go well. Sundqvist saw just 42 games of action for the Blues during the 2017-18 season and appeared in only six for the San Antonio Rampage in the AHL.

Injuries were an issue for Sundqvist, but with a deep forward roster, he could not afford to have back-to-back down years in which he was unable to produce offensively.

I do not think anyone could have predicted the level of play that Sundqvist was able to display during the 2018-19 season. The former third-round pick netted 14 goals which were tied for fifth on the team.

It was not just the outburst in scoring that grabbed the attention of coach Craig Berube, but his ability to play in just about every situation.

Along with linemate Ivan Barbashev, Sundqvist was able to grab hold of a spot on the penalty kill and was dominant all season long. He and Barbashev were tasked with shutting down some of the league’s best power plays and they did not disappoint.

Sundqvist did not make his 2018-19 debut until late October, and by that time, the Blues were already struggling to the point where all hope had seemed lost.

However, like many of his teammates, the 25-year-old never let the team’s performance derail his entire season. You can go up and down the roster to find players who stuck with the program to turn the season around, and Sundqvist was no different.

There is nothing to indicate that as long as Sundqvist is able to stay healthy, he can produce like he did last season. If things start well for the forward, he could see increased responsibility in the Blues top-9.

Currently, Sundqvist is a restricted free agent. He made $700,000 last season and figures to make at least $1 million in his new contract. When the Blues resign him, he figures to make just as much of an impact as he did last season.