When the St. Louis Blues claimed Jonatan Berggren off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings last Dec., it looked like a minor roster tweek with some offensive upside. By the season's end, however, the 26-year-old had turned into a dependable middle-six spark plug, earning a one-year, $2 million contract extension through the 2026-27 campaign.
As the NHL expands to an 84-game regular season schedule, one of the looming questions surrounding Berggren is whether his post-claim offensive production can find its way to a true breakout or if he will be surpassed on the depth chart.
In Detroit, the Swede became buried in a limited role getting an average of 11:59 of ice time across 15 games, tallying six points before being waived. In St. Louis, his average time on ice jumped by overr two and a half minutes to 14:35, and was given room to operate consistently in the top-nine with Berggren producing 16 points (six goals and 10 assits in 36 games).
This production did not come easily though as the young forward was healthy scratched on multiple occassions with Blues head coach Jim Montgomery looking for more consistency and pressure to come out of his game. The decision to do so appeared to pay dividends as there appeared to be a bit of an uptick in his overall two-way game producing six points (one goal, five assists) in his final 14 games of the season, despite averaging one shot on goal and 15:32 of time on ice per game.
Projecting this across an 84-game slate, Berggren's 0.44 pace with the Blues during the 2025-26 season puts him on track for roughly 37 points. With a 15.8% shooting percentage across the season with the Blues, his shot remains one of his biggest assets, as long as he continues to use it beyond his modest 1.05 shots per game. If he can elevate his shot output, a 20-goal, 40-45 point campaign should be well within reach.
To maintain a permanent middle-six deployment across a long season, Berggren must earn complete trust from Montgomery and the coaching staff, and that begins with puck management. Across 51 games last season, Berggren registered 41 giveaways across 51 games with both Detroit and St. Louis, while managing eight takeaways all season. Cleaner wall play and responsible 200-foot execution will be expected from the veteran with over 200 NHL games under his belt. His overall execution will determine whether he anchors a regular scoring line or finds himself rotated out of the lineup.
Agreeing to a one-year deal, both sides opted for a short-term "prove it" evaulation window.
For the Blues, this should offer more than enough time to determine his future with the club while providing top prospects players like Justin Carbonneau the time to begin the 2026-27 season with the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL to acclimate to the pro game without the pressure of performing in the NHL right away. For the Berggren, maintaining his middle-six pace should offer plenty of leverage as an RFA with arbitration rights heading into the 2027 offseason.
The ice time is there for the taking. Now, Berggren has 84 games to prove his middle-six scoring pace is here to stay.
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