The writing was on the wall for Sundqvist to come home

The 29-year-old forward and St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup champion, forever etched in Blues fans' hearts, played in his final game of that series against the Stars in Game 3 on April 19, his only game of the series; he scored in a 7-3 loss.

Minnesota was Sundqvist's second stop after his trade by the Blues, first to the Detroit Red Wings on March 21, 2022, then by the Red Wings to the Wild on March 3.

It took a bit of time, but perhaps in his mind, Sundqvist already transitioned to becoming an un restricted free agent on July 1 after the Wild's season ended in a six-game series loss; his four-year, $11-million contract ($2.75 million annual average value) he signed with the Blues was in the rear view window.

But in a salary cap world where teams are crunching dollars and cents, and Sundqvist's persistent, recurring injuries were going to force teams to either look elsewhere or ask the eight-year veteran to take a pay cut, his options were going to be limited.

Would they be limited to a place where he wanted to be in the first place? It would be hard for the Blues, who are usually hard-pressed for cap space to begin with.

But ultimately, when Blues veterans began to start skating again early in the summer informally, Sundqvist would join them, and a reunion only seemed to be a matter of time and not if it would happen.

"I was training with him here this summer at Centene [Community Ice Center] because we were both here," Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. "Leading up to it, there was some quiet talks, nothing crazy. Obviously after free agency I found out the news and just unreal for our room, just a guy that can play anywhere up and down your lineup, know what you're going to get from him every single night. Selfless guy that puts the team first and just wants to win. You need guys like that in your locker room.

"That's at the point (waiting for it to happen) you're just friends. As a former teammate at the time, that's business between him, his agent [Claude Lemieux] and [Blues general manager] Doug [Armstrong]. You don't have to say anything. There's nothing you can say that's going to make anything better. You're just hoping it would happen and it did."

From becoming a loyal fan of St. Louis CITY SC, attending a number of their soccer matches this summer, to making lasting friendships here, to finding a St. Louis girlfriend, Blake Hancock, when she showed him an apartment here in 2017, the cards were aligning.

Sundqvist would finally land back in St. Louis when he and the Blues consummated a one-year contract for $775,000 after some on again, off again, on again talks that finally led to pen on paper July 12.

Sundqvist, who the Blues acquired at the 2017 NHL Draft from the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Pittsburgh's No. 1 pick for enforcer Ryan Reaves, had options to move elsewhere but ultimately took less to come home to a place, teammates, a coaching staff, management and most importantly, a fanbase he was more than familiar and comfortable with.

"I kind of knew it was going to be a one-year contract and I wanted to come back to a place where I was familiar and I know what's going on around the rink and all that stuff," Sundqvist said. "I don't have to start to try to get new relationships with coaches and trainers and all that. We're happy we could figure something out with St. Louis and excited to be back.

"It is what it is with cap space and all that. Teams are struggling to make room and all that stuff. I'm just happy to be back. It's kind of like a prove it year and bounce back from all the injuries and all that stuff. I feel the best I ever had and I'm excited for a new season."

Not only is Urban Chestnut Brewing -- a Sundqvist favorite hangout spot -- happy, but so were Blues fans when they realized 'Sunny' was coming home. But so were Sundqvist's new and former, teammates. Their glue guy was back.

"He's a great guy, great personality, fits right in the room," Blues defenseman Justin Faulk said of Sundqvist. "He's comfortable here, guys are comfortable with him."

Sundqvist, who made his preseason debut Saturday at Enterprise Center in a 3-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes, scored a typical Sundqvist-style goal by crashing the net and potting the puck in tight in a goalie's grill. Some things never change, and the Blues are more than happy having that style back in the fold.

His feistiness, dogged determination, physical style who can play anywhere in the lineup in any situation will be a welcomed addition. Sundqvist likely slots regularly into the fourth-line center role, one he's quite familiar with and one that helped the Blues win a Stanley Cup with Ivan Barbashev and Alexander Steen as linemates.

"He wears on you, that guy, I'll tell you," Blues coach Craig Berube said of Sundqvist. "The way he just works and grinds and gets in the way, finds a way to get it done. That's the bottom line. He's a great identity player, great guy, great personality, drives the bus. He's an engine guy."

Finding Sundqvist on the ice when camp opened last Thursday was really easy. Just look for the familiar No. 70 jersey and if that's not enough, the guy with the flowing locks of hair.

"I was laughing, he's got his hair up in a bun now," Armstrong joked. "He's our new Chris Thorburn. He looks great, he's excited. ... I think it's really exciting, he's excited to be back. I can see that, you can see that in his personality.

"Sunny's got a good personality, but if he can't play on the ice, it really doesn't matter and we still think he's at the age where he's got a lot of miles left."

Sundqvist's style of play can be his own worst enemy to a fault. There's no way of avoiding persistent contact on the ice, and it makes the Boden, Sweden native susceptible to injury. His season-high is 74 games with the Blues in their Cup-winning season, since playing in 57 games in 2019-20, 28 in 2020-21, 59 in 2021-22 and 57 last season.

It's hampered his off-season training previously but not this past summer.

"It's huge. Even if it's feeling good some games throughout the years, waking up the next day have been terrible and not being able to get out of bed and stuff like that," Sundqvist said. "Now just the day after and feeling 100 percent the whole time is such a good feeling. A lot of thanks for a full summer of working out and preparing and not doing rehab. I'm the best I've felt in a lot of years.

"A lot of my injuries have been a little on the unlucky side too. This is the first full summer I've had in a lot of years. I feel like I've been preparing myself the whole summer to play for a season like that and for my body to hold up to it. I've done everything I can during the summer to be prepared again for a style of game like throwing your body around. There's no hesitation going into this season that I can do it."

The Blues will need it.

Since winning the Cup, their fourth line production -- from providing offense to being defensively sound -- has slipped. They want an identity back down there, they want to build that foundation back up to when Berube wouldn't hesitate to throw fourth-line guys on the ice to start games or in important situations like he did so in the Cup run.

Sundqvist, who was skating between Alexey Toropchenko and Jake Neighbours when camp started, could be the catalyst for that role and leading the way for a group that could also include the likes of Mackenzie MacEachern, Nathan Walker, Nikita Alexandrov and even Sammy Blais if called upon.

" I think our style back in '19 was a really good mix of skill and grit, everyone doing the work and everyone moving the same direction," Sundqvist said. "I feel like if we can get that going, just have everybody moving in the same direction, have everyone on the same page, we definitely can get that back. I'm excited looking up and down this lineup seeing what we have. I'm very excited to get the season started and see how we do. The emotions and all that stuff in the locker room has been great. With everyone coming back, we have a good feeling in here. I feel like a lot of guys want to prove themselves from last season and I think that's going to be a big plus for us coming in.

"Playing with Torp and Neighbours ... that fourth line is going to shape up to something that we had in 2019. If I'm a part of it or not, I'm excited to get this thing going."

It's one of the reasons why Schenn did his best to plant the initial seed on Sundqvist's return.

"He's a team-first guy that really, he just wants to win," Schenn said. "He puts the team first, he'll play anywhere in your lineup, he'll play PK for you, he'll play power play for you if you need him. He'll play right wing, he'll play center. He really fits anywhere in our lineup. I think throughout the room, trainers, everyone, coaching staff, I think we're all excited to have him back.

"I said it to 'Kruger' [Torey Krug] up in the press box (Saturday) night, if you look down and you see No. 70 in the Blues uniform, he's just one of those guys that when you see him on a different team doesn't make sense and we're happy to have him back. He looks good in the blue and yellow.

"But he stabilizes (the fourth line). You know what you're going to get every single night. He's going to bring guys into the fight with him, you know he's going to block shots, be physical, he's going to get to the dirty areas and he's hard to play against. He pulls guys in that direction whoever he's playing with."

That's why Sundqvist, who had the second-most points (28) in a season last year split with Detroit and Minnesota (10 goals, 18 assists), wanted back in. He knows what the coaching staff will ask of him, and he'll lead the way.

At the moment, 'Sunny' is home.

"That's one of the reasons I wanted to come back," Sundqvist said. "I know what's going on in the locker room and around the coaching staff and all that stuff. Maybe I didn't drive the bus (Saturday), the legs weren't really there after two hard days of practicing, but it's just great to be back and be with all these guys again. It's a great feeling. Hopefully we can continue on to winning hockey games and getting the regular season started here."