Oskar Sundqvist made a remarkable return from a serious knee injury suffered toward the end of the 2023-24 season. But with the Blues getting better and younger, Sundqvist’s role was strictly on the lower lines, and his productivity was about what you’d expect. Very average, with a physical edge to his game.
Overall, Sundqvist isn’t the kind of player who’d wow you with highlight-reel goals or anything spectacular, but he was a reliable piece as a defensive forward who could win the occasional defensive zone face-off. His background role will likely stay the same in 2025-26.
Grade: C-plus - Sundqvist’s productivity was minimal offensively, and he did just enough to scrape by defensively. He’s a stopgap who could continue his career elsewhere in 2026-27 once a few more players get some call-ups throughout next season. Still, he’s an older player who helped oversee the team’s latest culture change, and for that, he deserves credit.
Oskar Sundqvist’s 2024-25 season was rather boring, but that’s alright
If I recall, I said something similar back when I graded Pavel Buchnevich’s 2024-25 season. But in hockey, when I say boring, I don’t mean bad. Heck, I’d rather see a player give me 10 unmemorable performances as opposed to 10 memorable games for all the wrong reasons, or, in the NHL scope, up to 82.
And Oskar Sundqvist fulfilled it, ending the year with six goals and 20 points, a 10.0 shooting percentage, and 13:12 of average total ice time. In 67 games, he logged 78 hits, got in front of 53 shots, and recorded 19 takeaways. He was below-average at the face-off dot, winning 45.5 percent of his draws and 260 total.
Yeah, that’s about what you’re going to get for a veteran playing on a $1.5 million cap hit, but given the Blues ability to overachieve in 2024-25, it’s all Sundqvist needed to do. And, guess what? He’ll probably need to do even less next season.
What will Oskar Sundqvist’s performance look like in 2025-26
Honestly, I’m expecting a drop-off across the board, but not for the reason you may think. With the Blues still looking to get even younger, I’m expecting up-and-comers to cut more into Sundqvist’s ice time, which will likely relate him to seeing about 10 to 11 minutes of action.
This will lead to fewer than 20 points on the year, and fewer opportunities to land body checks and get in front of shots. But for Blues fans, this shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing, as it means the rest of the team is improving and priming themselves for a surefire playoff run.
It will also likely be the last time we see Sundqvist in a Blues uniform, as youth and higher-performing players will likely push him from the lineup heading into the summer of 2026. Yeah, it’ll be sad for another fan favorite to go elsewhere, but it’s the nature of the beast in the sports world. Plus, the Blues will, ultimately, be better off.