The St. Louis Blues have signed forward Jake Neighbours to a two-year, $7.5 million contract extension ($3.75 million average annual value), the team announced Tuesday.
Neighbours, 22, was in the final year of his entry-level contract. He was the Blues’ first-round pick (No. 26) in the 2020 NHL Draft.
In 2023-24, his second full season in the NHL, Neighbours broke out with 27 goals and 38 points in 77 games. There were no contract negotiations this summer, but it was a priority for the club to re-sign him before he became a restricted free agent next summer and had the ability to sign an offer sheet.
The two sides elected for a “bridge” deal, which means Neighbours gets a significant raise from his current salary of $835,834 but the Blues aren’t committing long-term yet to a player with only one season of that type of production.
In six games this season, Neigbours has two goals and three points, including the game-winning goal in last week’s 1-0 overtime victory over the New York Islanders.
Neighbours’ new contract will begin at the start of the 2025-26 season, and he will remain an RFA when the deal expires.
What does this mean for the Blues?
The Blues want hardworking players who want to be in St. Louis, and that’s Neighbours. The club might have thought a few years ago that he was a potential identity player who could help in their bottom six, but Neighbours earned his way into the top six with a gritty style that got him a lot of goals in front of the net. The Blues don’t have many players like him on the roster, and even more importantly, his work ethic has rubbed off on other players who play different styles.
Why a “bridge” deal?
In my bold predictions for the Blues’ 2024-25 season, I suggested that Neighbours would sign a maximum eight-year contract extension. One day recently, I showed that prediction to Neighbours, and he said, “I’ll take that.” In the end, though, he accepted the two-year extension, which gives him security now and time to show the Blues that he’s worth a long-term deal and more money than they were probably willing to pay at this point.
Why now?
The Blues wanted more proof that Neighbours can be a perennial 30-goal scorer, but the risk is that if he shows that, they’ll have to pay him much more than a $3.75 AAV when this deal is up. Also, after signing both Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to offer sheets last summer, they could be targets for one next summer. So by getting Neighbours signed to this deal now, they avoid a scenario in which his price goes up and they have to ward off the offer-sheet vultures.
(Photo: James Guillory / USA Today)
