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.
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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