Jonatan Berggren’s first run with the Blues made the waiver claim look a lot bigger than a simple depth move.
St. Louis grabbed the 26-year-old from Detroit last Dec., and by season’s end he had settled in as a useful middle-six piece, good enough to land a one-year, $2 million extension that runs through the 2026-27 campaign. The real question now is whether that production holds up when the schedule stretches to 84 games.
The numbers from both stops tell the story. In Detroit, Berggren was stuck in a limited role, averaging 11:59 of ice time over 15 games and posting six points before he was waived.
Once he arrived in St. Louis, his usage climbed by more than two and a half minutes to 14:35 per game, and he was given steady top-nine minutes.
In 36 games with the Blues, he finished with 16 points, including six goals and 10 assists.
That production didn’t come without a few bumps. Berggren was a healthy scratch more than once as head coach Jim Montgomery pushed for more consistency and more pressure in his game.
The message seemed to land. Over his final 14 games, Berggren showed more of a two-way edge and produced six points - one goal and five assists - while averaging one shot on goal and 15:32 of ice time per game.
If that pace carries over to an 84-game season, the baseline is encouraging. His 0.44 scoring rate with St.
Louis in 2025-26 points to about 37 points over a full schedule. The shot rate is the next lever to pull.
Berggren shot 15.8% with the Blues, and his finishing touch remains one of his best tools as long as he does more with it than his modest 1.05 shots per game. Push the volume up, and a 20-goal, 40- to 45-point season is there to be had.
But scoring alone won’t keep him planted in the middle six. Berggren has to win the staff’s full trust, and that starts with puck management.
Across 51 games between Detroit and St. Louis, he had 41 giveaways and just eight takeaways.
Cleaner play along the walls and a more reliable 200-foot game will decide whether he stays on a scoring line or keeps bouncing in and out of the lineup.
The one-year contract makes that evaluation period pretty clear. It’s a short-term prove-it deal for both sides.
For the Blues, it gives them time to sort out Berggren’s place while also leaving room for top prospects like Justin Carbonneau to start the 2026-27 season with the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL and get their feet under them before jumping into the NHL. For Berggren, a steady middle-six season would give him real leverage as an RFA with arbitration rights heading into the 2027 offseason.
The opportunity is right there. Berggren has 84 games to show the Blues that his scoring pace isn’t just a good stretch - it’s his new normal.
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Brandon Carlo Gives Blues Defense What It Was Missing
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For Montgomery, the reunion matters as much as the fit. He knows exactly what Carlo can bring in terms of structure and reliability, and St. Louis is betting that those traits translate quickly in a new setting. There is also the contract layer to this move, with Carlo in the final season before reaching unrestricted free agency in 2027, which gives the Blues both a short-term boost and a longer look at how he fits into their plans. [Read more 🡒]