Snuggerud Wants to Stay. The Contract Isn't There Yet.

Jimmy Snuggerud went on record saying he wants to be part of the Blues' long-term future, that he loves the city. That part is easy. The harder part is that Tuesday's CBA deadline passed without a deal, which means the 2022 first-round pick enters restricted free agency unsigned rather than locked in under the old maximum eight-year window. The new CBA caps max extensions at seven years, so the terms of any eventual deal shift slightly — but the more immediate fact is that there is no deal.

This is the second first-round pick in a matter of days to leave the organization in an unsettled state. Bolduc went to Montreal. Snuggerud hasn't gone anywhere, and his public comments suggest he doesn't want to, but the Blues now have to get something done under a different set of rules than they had two days ago. That's a small but real complication.

The timing is worth noting. St. Louis spent the summer making long-term commitments to forwards — McMichael at six years and $40.5 million, McTavish acquired from Anaheim — while Snuggerud, a player they drafted and developed, heads into camp without a contract. My read is that the forward rebuild is real and the intent is genuine, but the organization is now managing more open roster questions than it probably planned for at this point in September.

Snuggerud posted 16 points in 37 games last season, which is a modest line but one that came with limited opportunity. He's young, he's theirs, and he says he wants to stay. The Blues should want to close this one before it becomes a distraction — they have enough of those already.