MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- For Nick Bjugstad, last season was one to forget for the newly-signed St. Louis Blues veteran center.

A back injury that required surgery a year ago in August put the 33-year-old behind the Eight-ball as far as progress in readying himself for a season.

He gutted through 66 games with the Utah Mammoth and the numbers just simply didn’t add up: eight goals, 11 assists after putting up 45 points (22 goals, 23 assists) with the Arizona Coyotes the previous season.

“It was a tough one for me last year,” Bjugstad admitted on Friday, the second day of training camp. “I came out of surgery in late August, it was a back surgery I’ve had before. It takes me a minute to kind of recoup and I missed an entire summer last summer. So I was kind of starting from square one two months into the season. That was tough on me. With that being said, I was excited to get a full summer in here. I skated a lot, trained a lot. Did a lot of pilates. Just kind of hung out with my family. From a training standpoint, I feel much more confident going into this season than I did last.”

But knowing it was a contract year, there was an element of the unknown. And then the Blues came calling, with a need to bolster the center ice position, and in the bottom six. The result was a two-year, $3.5 million contract ($1.75 million average annual value) on July 1.

“I know how good this team is,” Bjugstad said. “In Utah last year, we were chasing them and couldn’t catch them. St. Louis went on a (12-game) win streak, I think it was. I know how good this team is, I know how good the culture is, just having friends that have played here, how much they’ve enjoyed the city and the fans and the environment they’re in. That’s important, older guy in my career. I wanted to join a team I felt was a contender and obviously a team that wants you as well. I got the call, it was exciting. I really didn’t know what to expect in free agency, so I was fortunate to get the call from [Doug] Armstrong.”

The sell was easy.

“Yeah for sure. I think what I can kind of bring to the team to help this team,” Bjugstad said. “You want to go to a team that wants you. That’s first and foremost and then you kind of feel out where they’re at as an organization. I’ve been on the other side of a lot of losses against St. Louis. It’ll be be fun to be on this side with a lot of guys that have been winners and been here a long time.”

The Blues brought in Bjugstad, with his sixth NHL franchise after being selected in the first round (No. 19 overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers, and Pius Suter to bolster the middle of the ice and complement Robert Thomas, Brayden Schenn and Oskar Sundqvist to give them five bonafide experienced centers down the middle, something that certainly has lacked in recent past.

Jimmy Snuggerud and Nick Bjugstad #stlblues ... pic.twitter.com/tfNpihn95e

— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) September 19, 2025

But what the Blues like about Bjugstad, who has also played for the Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins, is his versatility to also be able to play on the wing if necessary.

So far through two days, he’s centered Pavel Buchnevich and Alexandre Texier.

“It’s too early to tell because we’ve only had him down the middle,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said of the usage for Bjugstad. “We will put him on wing at some point in the camp, but right now, just with the organizational depth the way it is, we don’t have a plethora of centers. So getting all the guys more responsibilities at center … it’s harder to play center in our system than it is – it’s probably true in any system – but ours I know it is harder. It’s a lot more work, it’s a lot more reads. To learn how to play fast in that position is a lot harder than wing and I think we’re seeing that with [Dalibor] Dvorsky.”

Bjugstad’s smile on Friday symbolized the way he’s felt, and that’s 100 percent now that he’s put in a full summer of training and has taken extra – and different – measures to ensure his health.

“I’ve had multiple surgeries and every time getting back and finding my body, finding my groove, it takes time,” he said. “Especially with the back. It’s not an easy one. That’s kind of a focal point of your body. My mind was wanting to do one thing last year and it wasn’t generating as far as production and how I felt in previous years. The positive thing is I know I’ve had this surgery and I know I can come back from it without any real issues going forward. It just takes some time. I got that time. I’m ready to go and I feel good.”

And being able to get back to some of the numbers of recent past when Bjugstad also had 17 goals and 12 assists combined with the Coyotes and Oilers in 2022-23 along with his 45 points two seasons ago, is something the 6-foot-5, 205-pound right-handed shot feels he can get back to.

“Yeah I do. I had a rough year, even mentally,” Bjugstad said. “It’s hard when you have a good year the year before, a good few years and then physically you just can’t find it, and that’s how I felt. I’m planning on staying healthy. I’ve really found different ways to take care of myself, my body, mind and what not. It’s definitely a different approach as you get older and you’ve been through stuff like that. I think for me, it’s exciting to come in with a full head of steam and a full summer of training.

“(So far) tt’s been good. Practices have been fast. That’s good, that’s what you expect, to be fast, get your wits about you, get rid of the summer habits. Just trying to do my best to pick up the speed and get ready for these preseason games here.”

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