MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- When the initial floodgates to free agency opened on July 1 and NHL teams had their checkbooks out, sometimes there would always be someone that would fall through the cracks, perhaps not making a hasty decision and wanting to take some time to contemplate one’s next destination.

For Pius Suter, it was obvious he was not returning to the Vancouver Canucks, so that meant searching for the next fit despite putting up a career-high in goals (25) and points (46) for the Canucks last season.

Maybe it wasn’t the term he would have preferred while shopping through the market, but Suter knew the St. Louis Blues would be the perfect fit after he and his agent Georges Mueller spoke to general manager Doug Armstrong.

A two-year, $8.25 million contract ($4.125 million average annual value) was consummated rather quickly and the 29-year-old found himself with a team in dire need of a center iceman who found a scoring touch but is known for his reliability defensively, as a penalty killer and just a fundamentally, sound player.

“I did the homework,” Suter said. “When I talked to them, I had a great feeling what they seen of me as a player. It’s also a team that went to the playoffs last year so it’s exciting and you want to help them take another step. … In the end, you put in the work. You can only control so much. You just make sure when you show up, you do your thing and you help the team win.

“They’re well-organized. They play hard, they’re structured. As you can see in the playoffs, just a really good, overall team. They know what they’re doing. I just felt like it was a good fit and hopefully I can help them go another step.”

It was obvious the Blues needed a center, or two, and identified Suter as a target, when Armstrong said when the Blues signed the five-year veteran on July 2 that they like Suter’s versatility.

It’s not a player that is going to woo and wow you, but it is someone that will dedicate himself to a team concept and fit a piece that was obviously missing.

“You can just tell he’s reliable,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said of Suter. “Practicing is always tough because everyone’s in the perfect position at all times. On majority of days, everyone looks good. Where guys obviously separate themselves is the game. Obviously looking forward to playing with him and he’s obviously a huge piece for us that’s just going to play 200 feet for us. The more of those players we have, the better.”

Suter, who began his career with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020-21 as an undrafted free agent but had 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) 55 games before joining the Detroit Red Wings the following season, also on a two-year contract, then signing with the Canucks – also for two years.

“Everybody looks at long term,” Suter said. “You see the market. You find a new team, see how it fits. It’s just one of those business things, right? In general, it seemed everyone was comfortable on the shorter side.”

The Zurich, Switzerland native has spent his entire NHL career proving himself, and he will do so again with the Blues, a team he scored his second NHL hat trick against Jan. 24, 2024. He’s not someone characterized with a tremendous amount of speed, but at the end of the night, is someone that finds a way to get the job done.

“His hockey sense. You can tell on the penalty kill, he’s going to make our penalty kill better,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “His stick is always in the right spot, he knows where he has to be. Even though he’s never been called the fastest guy in the world, he hits holes at the right time. We’ve seen that for years with the Ryan O’Reillys and the Patrice Pergerons, people that aren’t fast but they never get caught on breakaways because they know where the pucks are going before anybody else.

“He’s a player that I think makes those around him better whether he’s in an offensive role or defensive role because he just plays to his strengths. … I’ve been surprised how quickly he’s picked up all of our … their D-zone was similar to our D-zone, so I expected that, but I haven’t seen him make a mistake in the neutral zone or on the forecheck or the stuff that we were working on today, our tracking. It seems like because of his hockey brain, he just adapts. I think if the system makes sense, he’s going to be able to play quickly. Hopefully it’s a sign of that our systems that we’re implementing make sense.”

Suter made the adjustment to the NHL after spending five seasons with his hometown ZSC Lions in Zurich. Being 5-foot-11, 172 pounds, Suter has had to find his way and navigate the ups and downs of transitioning to the NHL and realized by doing that, his numbers, ice time (career high 17:21 last season) and opportunities would eventually increase and improve.

“I think around the boards, battles, 1-on-1s, those kind of things and shooting, shooting well again,” Suter said. “I had some time to really work on it. I felt like after that first year, I needed to get that kick back a little bit again and it’s been there again. I think it’s more on the confidence thing of where it’s going when I shoot it. Overall you learn the league, you learn the players you play against, what’s going on in the day-to-day, the travel. It’s a huge difference from the way it usually happened. You kind of find your way around. As anybody, you get older, you know your body well, you know what you need this today or that. It just helps you every year more.

“You’ve just got to play to your strengths. Just play smart defensively and be dangerous offensively and do all the little things right. Then it’s just kind of play a team game and play to win. The rest will kind of fall in place. One thing is you don’t want to overthink it. You just got to play to your strength. You can’t play something you’re not. That’s why they usually feel like on the team you can help.”

Prior to last season, Suter’s goal scoring seasons were 14, 15, 14 and 14; he had 138 shots, second-highest of his five seasons in the NHL but his shooting percentage was a career-best 18.1 percent.

“It helps pretty much to play all the games,” Suter, who played in 81 games, said. “I think I took advantage of the chances I had, especially in the slot where I could get a couple extra ones in. That’s kind of what happened, buried those, put them in instead of missing a little bit, hit the post or something like that and I think that was the difference in terms of goals. … Things fell into place and it felt good at the start of the year and kept going. I had a great summer and I had a feeling it was going to be great. The year before too, just missed a couple games with an injury.”

Suter doesn’t have the greatest face-off numbers (45.9 percent career) but will work well with assistant coach Steve Ott in that department but will be a solid piece of a puzzle trying to improve a penalty kill. He was past of Vancouver’s third-ranked penalty kill last season (82.6 percent); the Blues were tied for 27th (74.2 percent).

“We’ll see how it goes. You take pride in it,” Suter said. “It can really help to give momentum. At least you’ll have the chance in the game in those big moments. As a group, it’s four guys in a role. You’ve just got to find a way. Guys are going to make plays. You just don’t want to give the one right in the middle downtown. You just take pride in it. It’s always a big part of the game.”

Whether Suter plays second-line center – that’s where he was with Dylan Holloway and Jordan Kyrou Tuesday at practice – or third-line center will be up to the coaches. He doesn’t really care. All he cares about is helping the Blues take that next step.

“You see how good they were and that first round last year,” Suter said of the Blues. “You just try and build on that. You get the feeling it’s really good players, a lot of good players, a big roster. You can tell mindset-wise, a tight-knit group. Everybody here knows it’s about winning and nothing else really matters.”

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