Through the first 10 games of this season, the St. Louis Blues have kept mixing and matching the fourth line. Alexey Toropchenko, Ross Johnston, Zach Dean, Dylan Peterson, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki and Otto Stenberg have all cycled through, and the group has been a moving target while the club searches for something steady.
The steady part has been Pius Suter.
The 30-year-old center is in the final season of the two-year, $8.25 million deal he signed with the Blues, and he has opened the year with three goals and three assists while centering the fourth line. His ice time has dropped from 15:54 last season to 13:54 this year, but that does not tell the full story.
He was a third-line center a year ago, working in more of a scoring-checking role. Now he is the anchor of the energy line, the one expected to set the tone for the shifts that follow.
That role has looked familiar no matter who has been on either side of him. The line has moved from a pair of big, physical forwards in Toropchenko and Johnston to younger players in Kaskimaki and Stenberg, and Suter has remained the constant through all the changes.
“Every player’s a bit different, different strengths, but you just kind of stick to doing what you do well because if you try and change yourself too much, that’s not really going to work out as well,” Suter said. “Some tough injuries.
I think the guys coming in have done a really good job, every single one of them brings energy, a lot of speed, hunts pucks. I think we’ve had some success on the line.”
He does not jump off the page with flashy analytics. His game is about details, and those details show up better on the ice than in a spreadsheet. Blues coach Jim Montgomery pointed to that calm, steady influence when talking about what Suter brings.
“I think his smarts, he’s comforting, he’s calm, he speaks calmly, he speaks confidently,” Montgomery said. “I think he gives young players that everything is going to be good.”
That has mattered for Kaskimaki and Stenberg, who were recalled earlier in the week and have already looked at ease during two wins to open the homestand: 2-1 over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday and 6-2 over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. The defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes are next on Saturday.
Kaskimaki, who picked up his first NHL point with an assist on Justin Barron’s first-period goal that made it 2-0, said the fit has been immediate.
“It helps a lot,” said Kaskimaki, who picked up his first NHL point, an assist on Justin Barron’s first-period goal that made it 2-0. “(Suter’s) a smart player.”
Suter’s value runs deeper than offense. He is a 46.4 percent career face-off player, though he has won 50 percent of his draws so far this season.
He is used on the penalty kill, trusted with his stick in defensive situations, and dependable away from the puck. If the Blues need a net-front presence on the power play, he can handle that too.
When the game tightens up late, he is the kind of player coaches feel comfortable sending over the boards.
“It’s a nice feeling,” Suter said. “I feel like it’s just a combination of what you think you’re doing right and they give you that confirmation back that you’re playing the right way.
You’re doing the smaller (and) right things. Then with time, you get the trust and obviously you always want to be out there and help the team.
It’s just a mindset of win the game, whatever that needs to be. I think that sums it up pretty much.
“I think for me, you do certain things that work out well, it goes well for you, the coaches trust you, you get more into games that way and I just stick with what’s been working for me over my career. That just kind of channels into that.
There’s so many injuries or different situations. It’s just whoever you go out with, you need to read off guys.
It’s a little bit of an adjustment sometimes and it takes a minute. But I’ve always been known that way.
“You get the trust to be thrown in some situations late in games up or down. I think that’s why I’m also easy to come to a little bit.
I’m just used to it. You do the best to help the team achieve in that moment to be successful.”
That has been the thread through his career with the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks before arriving in St. Louis. Suter has made a living by keeping his game simple and consistent, and that style has helped him earn coaches’ trust wherever he has played.
It is also why this latest version of the fourth line has clicked quickly. Suter said the message for Kaskimaki and Stenberg is straightforward.
“I think they just play and you tell them to stick to their game,” Suter said of his young linemates. “I don’t think you really have to do too much.
They know what they’re doing. It’s just stick to what you do well.
There’s a reason you’re here and you don’t need to change yourself just because you’re here. That’s kind of the message itself.
They know what they’re doing.
“You try and make it as easy as possible for all your linemates. You do your best to try and find each other, and sometimes it takes a little longer to get adjusted to each other to kind of know where each guy’s going, to read off each other sometimes.
But I think it’s been going well. You play, play hard, make sure you win your battles and then you try and make as easy as possible.
Those guys have been around. They’re not that nervous anymore.”
With the Blues leaning into a roster built around early- to mid-20s players, Suter’s age and experience stand out. Even at 30, he looks like the kind of player worth keeping around, especially given his versatility, his international experience with Switzerland and his comfort in pressure situations.
For St. Louis, he has already proven to be a solid investment.
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