Blues give Parayko long term extension

*Photo from Sportsnet*

   One of the biggest faces on the St.Louis Blues defense is staying around for a long time. The Blues and right shot D Colton Parayko have agreed to an 8 year, $52 million extension, with a $6.5 million AAV, according to the team.

   Blues GM Doug Armstrong said of Parayko that "We drafted and developed Colton and now having him under contract for the next nine seasons is great for our organization. Having Colton, Torey Krug and Justin Faulk under contract long term gives us a strong and reliable defensive core for the foreseeable future."

   Parayko is on the last season of a deal he signed with the Blues in 2017, which pays him $5.5 million annually. His new extension kicks in at the start of the 2022-2023 season, and has a no trade clause for the first 6 seasons of the deal, with a modified no trade clause in the final two seasons. The deal expires at the end of the 2029-2030 season.

   Last season, in the short regular season, Parayko accumulated two goals and 10 assists for the Blues, with a -2 plus/minus in an ATOI of 21:20, suiting up for 32 regular season games, missing time due to injury. In 4 playoff games, he added one assist as the Blues were swiftly eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche.

   In his career, spanning 6 seasons, all with the Blues, Parayko has 41 goals and 130 assists to his name, with a +54 plus/minus in an ATOI of 21:43, playing in 418 regular season games after debuting in the 2015-2016 season. In 70 career playoff games, Parayko has 8 goals and 19 assists.

   Parayko said of his extension that "For sure, that's special, that's really cool. Obviously, the first year in the NHL Draft, I didn't get drafted, then going into the second year, obviously they took a chance on me. So it's pretty cool to be with the team that took a chance on me. I'm looking forward to continuing this career here in St. Louis. Obviously, not often a player gets the opportunity to do that. The biggest thing was to stay here in St. Louis. I've always enjoyed it here and that was the main focus."

   With this extension, Parayko is likely to play out his entire career in St.Louis, as he is 28 years currently, and will be 37 when the contract expires. Parayko was seleced with the 86th overall pick, in the 3rd round of the 2012 NHL Draft by the Blues.