Alexandre Texier has spent his entire professional career with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but he's off to Missouri after being traded to the St. Louis Blues on Friday, his agent announced. He was also subsequently signed to a two-year contract by Blues general manager Doug Armstrong.
“Congratulations to Alexandre Texier of [Blues] on signing 2 year contract extension!” agent Dan Milstein wrote on X.
In Don Waddell's first trade as general manager of the Blue Jackets, he acquired a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft in exchange for the young center. Texier appeared in 201 games for the Jackets after debuting near the end of the 2018-19 season. He finished with 34 goals and 79 points in that span, while adding 82 penalty minutes.
Columbus picked the French national in the second round (No. 45) in the 2017 NHL Draft. He carved out a decent bottom-six role in Ohio, especially last season, scoring 12 goals and 30 points over 78 contests. He was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1, and now will spend the next two seasons in St. Louis on a $4.2 million pact ($2.1 milion AAV).
Texier spent the 2022-23 season with the ZSC Lions in Switzerland's National League to be closer to family, recording 35 points in 46 games. With the Blues, he figures to play a similar role to the one he did with the Blue Jackets.
Alexandre Texier was a solid depth forward for Blue Jackets
Texier's value increased after setting career-highs across the board in 2023-24, including in goals, assists, points, penalty minutes and games played. The 6-foot-1, 201-pound forward now goes from one of the worst teams in the league — at least last season — to a club that is trying to decide whether to rebuild or chase the playoffs in 2025.
The Blues have missed each of the last two Stanley Cup Playoffs, and it's been tough sledding for the organization since winning a maiden Stanley Cup championship in 2019. St. Louis has won just one playoff round since, and there are rumblings they could move key pieces of the roster this offseason, including one or more of Pavel Buchnevich, Colton Parayko, Torey Krug and Justin Faulk.
Texier should move the needle at least a little bit with his new team, and it'll be interesting to see if he can carve out a role in the top-six. Pro Hockey Rumors' Josh Erickson summed up the trade well.
“The Blue Jackets had tried working Texier higher up in the lineup, moving him to the wing and getting him a decent chunk of time on their penalty kill,” wrote Erickson shortly after the deal broke. “But with a higher-skilled, younger wave of prospects coming through the pipeline, he’d become expendable. They’ll need to replace the 1:46 he averaged shorthanded per game, though.
“Meanwhile, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong does solid work here to pick up a solid depth-checking forward for a mid-round pick. The extension is quite reasonable, to boot. It comes in slightly lower than Evolving Hockey’s two-year, $2.33MM AAV projection.”
Although Texier struggled on draws in Columbus, he could play the center position for St. Louis, or get a look at his natural position on the wing. It'll be interesting to see if he potentially gets a chance in the top-six with his new club.
Follow Us
Subscribe