Ryan Suter could accomplish major career milestones this season

July 10th marked a pivotal day for the St. Louis Blues in the last part of free agency, as they managed to add one last defenseman to their core, albeit one that may just have one or two years left in the tank. 39-year-old iron man Ryan Suter was acquired by the Blues from Central Division rival Dallas, just a mere couple of days after the Stars bought out the remaining year and a half from Suter's contract. Now, what can Suter do with the team that may be the last he plays for?

Suter, a native of Madison, Wisconsin, was originally drafted by the Nashville Predators, seventh overall in the 2003 draft, where he'd spend the first seven years of his career, from 2005/06-2012/13. He notched 542 games with 38 goals and 200 assists for 238 points. Prior to 2005/06, Suter had to play with his hometown Wisconsin Badgers followed by the Predators' AHL affiliate in the Milwaukee Admirals, who are still affiliated with Nashville to this day.

Suter probably would've played in 2004/05 with the Preds but didn't, and nobody on any team did due to the league season-lasting lockout. In 2012/13, Suter joined the Minnesota Wild, where he'd spend nine more seasons racking up a total of 656 games with 55 goals and 314 assists for 369 points. In the 2021/22 season, Suter headed way south to Dallas, where he'd play up until now, totaling 246 games with 12 goals and 62 assists for 74 points. In its entirety, that gives Suter's 19-year career 1444 games, 105 goals, 576 assists,19-year, and 681 points.

Now, onto the main discussion. The Blues stacked up on defensemen in both free agency this summer and this year's NHL Draft, giving them a nice old and young mix on the defensive side of the puck. With Suter's addition, there may be hope that he can mentor some of the Blues' younger Ds, especially given the three biggest milestones Suter could reach this season.

1500 Games Played

If Suter plays in 56 games or more this season, he'd become just the 22nd player in league history to play in 1500 games and, more notably, just the seventh defenseman to ever achieve that. That is not gonna be an issue for a guy who's played in all 82 regular season games in each of the last three seasons.

It's also worth noting that Suter's 82-game plays have occasionally led the entire league, like in the 2021/22 season. And that was actually the third time in his career that Suter led the NHL in regular-season games played in a single season.

500 Consecutive Games Played

Speaking of games played, Suter is one of the NHL's modern "iron men," or someone who's played an astonishing consecutive number of games, regular or postseason, without missing a single one due to injury or otherwise. Suter himself has played in 453 consecutive games, meaning he's 47 away from the magic number of 500. He'd be just the 27th player in NHL history to accomplish such an exclusive feat.

700 Career Points

When you think of career milestones for any NHL player, 700 points is quite frequently mentioned. After all, Suter is one of many notable active players who are close to that threshold. He's less than 20 points away and considering his average points in a season total looks to be between 15 and 25, the 39-year-old might as well already have that covered.

Ryan Suter is one of the NHL's most notable iron men, and one of a few players that you'll see play 20 years or more in the NHL in today's world. Back some 20-30 years ago, it was somewhat common to see longevity like that. Now, it's fleetingly rare and may be on its way out. Blues fans, enjoy seeing the last strong bits of a legendary defenseman while you still can!