It wasn't the splashiest signing of the first day of free agency--let alone the splashiest move the Blues made--but bringing in veteran center Nick Bjugstad fills the void left by Radek Faksa, who returned to the Dallas Stars. Bjugstad is an NHL veteran who's been in the league for over a decade, with stops on the Florida Panthers (the team that drafted him 19th overall in 2010), the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Minnesota Wild (the state he's from, too!), the Edmonton Oilers and, most recently, the Arizona Coyotes/Utah Mammoth. In 760 career games, Bjugstad has scored 157 goals and 330 points.
So, what kind of player is Bjugstad, and how does he fit on the Blues? With Faksa gone, the Blues needed a stable bottom-six center that can help shelter prospect Dalibor Dvorsky when he makes the jump to the NHL, and, at 6-foot-5, Bjugstad is well-equipped to handle that role. For most of his career, he's been a solid play-driver and, in his most recent stint with Utah, posted a 51.32 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 53.16 expected Goals-for percentage (xGF%), per Natural Stat Trick. Those are pretty good numbers for a guy averaging just over 12 minutes a night!
To look at it another way, HockeyViz grades Bjugstad as a solid middle-six center, ideally as a third liner but able to jump up to second-line center in a pinch. However, don't expect that to be a regular occurrence; Bjugstad's at his best when he's being used appropriately, and that means driving play from the bottom six and not being overleveraged playing more than 15 minutes a night, especially as he's about to turn 33 years old this month.
Regardless of the ceiling Bjugstad has, it's a savvy signing for the Blues that shores up their depth at a critical position. Robert Thomas will obviously be on the first line, but now Brayden Schenn doesn't have to carry all the weight as a second-line center--a better balance in Schenn's usage can be struck with Bjugstand in the fold. Considering the low cap hit of $1.75 million AAV and only a two-year term (with zero trade protections), the Blues took a low-risk bet to improve, and it should pan out well.