Blues sign Chris Stewart to one-year extension reportedly worth $3 million

Stewart also had six fights this past regular season. (Getty Images)

The St. Louis Blues had a decision to make on young forward Chris Stewart and they have made it. The Blues announced that Stewart has signed a one-year extension with the team and, according to Andy Strickland of True Hockey, It is worth $3 million, avoiding the restricted free agency Stewart was headed toward.

When Stewart was acquired by the Blues a year and a half ago from the Colorado Avalanche -- along with Kevin Shattenkirk and a second-round pick for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement and a first-round selection -- big things were expected.

At 23 years old Stewart only played 62 games split between the two teams and still put up 28 goals and 25 assists. In 26 games with the Blues he had 15 goals and eight assists. He looked like another player that was joining a strong, young core in St. Louis.

Then he struggled this past season, recording his lowest point total since he was a rookie despite playing the most games in a season (79) of his career. He had just 15 goals and 15 assists. Not dreadful production, but certainly a disappointment when framed against the fact that he had the same number of goals in 1/3 the number of games with St. Louis the season before.

It led to some chatter throughout the season that Stewart could be on the way out of town, the question was where was his stock sitting? The option still stood for the Blues to cut bait and not give Stewart a new offer.

Instead, they are going to bring him back at a somewhat pricey tag. The gamble here is that it won't prove to be pricey because he'll turn up the production back to the level they have seen before with the Blues. Remember, he was only 24 years old this season, so it's much easier to look past a down season and hope for a return to his previous form.

Obligatory background mention: Stewart is the younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes forward Anthony Stewart. That is all.

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