St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced that the team has signed forward Matt Luff, defenseman Hunter Skinner, and goaltender Vadim Zherenko to one-year, two-way contracts. Each deal includes an NHL salary of $775,000, while the AHL salaries are $400,000 for Luff and $125,000 for both Skinner and Zherenko.
Luff, 28, played in 50 games last season for the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he tallied 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) and recorded 42 penalty minutes. He also contributed four points (two goals, two assists) in six games with the Charlotte Checkers. The Oakville, Ontario native has compiled 212 points (87 goals, 125 assists) and 176 penalty minutes over 279 career AHL games, along with 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) and 20 penalty minutes in 106 career NHL games.
Hunter Skinner, 24, played in 71 regular-season games for the Springfield Thunderbirds last season, posting 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) along with 98 penalty minutes. The Wyandotte, Michigan native has accumulated 56 points (16 goals, 40 assists) and 249 penalty minutes over 203 career AHL games. Skinner was acquired by the Blues in a trade with the New York Rangers on February 9, 2023.
Goaltender Vadim Zherenko, also 24, appeared in 32 games for Springfield last season, finishing with a 12-17-5 record, a 3.44 goals-against average, and a .897 save percentage. The Moskva, Russia native has a career AHL record of 34-40-9 through 86 games, with a 3.37 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. Zherenko was selected by the Blues in the seventh round (208th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft.