Defenseman, acquired from Ducks in December, could have become unrestricted free agent after this season

Cam Fowler signed a three-year, $18.3 million contract ($6.1 million average annual value) with the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

The contract will begin with the 2026-27 season. Fowler is entering the final season of an eight-year, $52 million contract ($6.5 million average annual value) he signed with the Anaheim Ducks on July 1, 2017 and could have become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

“We talked over the summer and said training camp would be a good time to initiate conversations there and we’ll get through the summer,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. “(Fowler’s agent) Pat Brisson and I maybe talked 10 days ago and sort of told him what the framework that was acceptable for both sides term-wise and then we got into the finances. It started with we really wanted Cam here, we’ve loved everything he’s done and he loves it here. It felt natural when we started to talk that both sides wanted to get something done. My experience on free agency is that teams nowadays if you don’t get it done by January 1st, then it gets right to June 25th or 26th. We talked, we both wanted to see if we could get something done and if not, we were going to park it. We didn’t want it lingering into the season. So we got it done.”

The 33-year-old defenseman was acquired in a trade from the Ducks on Dec. 14, 2024 for prospect Jeremie Biakabutuka and a second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

“I’m thrilled,” Fowler said. “I can’t say enough about the guys in the locker room and management, everybody here and how they’ve welcomed me and my family, the fans and all the support that we’ve had. I appreciate the support from management to get this done and as a player here, I’m really excited for the next few years and being a part of this team, so very grateful.”

Fowler had 36 points (nine goals, 27 assists) in 51 games for St. Louis after the trade and 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in seven Stanley Cup playoff games.

A first-round pick of the Ducks (No. 12) in the 2010 NHL Draft, Fowler has 493 points (105 goals, 388 assists) in 1,042 regular-season games and 43 points (eight goals, 35 assists) in 69 playoff games.