Alexandre Texier is the unknown newcomer that could be another wildcard for St. Louis Blues

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- A lot of hype has been made of the St. Louis Blues offseason acquisitions, some getting plenty of attention and rightfully so.

But for those that forgot, the ball got rolling for Doug Armstrong on the second day of the 2024 NHL Draft, June 29 to be exact, when the Blues' GM began his reform of the team by acquiring forward Alexandre Texier from the Columbus Blue Jackets and a fourth-round pick in 2025. Armstrong immediately signed the restricted free agent to a two-year, $4.2 million contract ($2.1 million average annual value).

The Blues have made no bones about wanting to get faster, wanting to get stronger and being more physical. They've done so with the acquisitions of Texier, Radek Faksa, Mathieu Joseph, and Dylan Holloway up front, and Ryan Suter and Philip Broberg on the blue line.

People are getting a firm understanding of who many of these players are, but who is Texier, who comes in at 6-foot-1, 201 pounds?

"I can kind of play everywhere," Texier said. "I play PP. Last year I played a lot of PK. My game is with speed. I think that fits right into this club."

Texier is 25, hails from Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France who just completed a stint playing for his country for Olympic qualification for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

View the original article to see embedded media.

He's a multi-faceted skater who can play anywhere up and down a lineup. Put him at center or put him on the wing, something the Blue Jackets did during the 2017 second-round pick's five-year tenure with the Jackets.

That's why the Blues are taking a close look at what they have and what they think is best suited for them.

"That's going to take time," Blues coach Drew Bannister said. "Personally, I don't know a lot about him himself. I actually watched him quite a bit when I was in junior. I've seen a little bit of him previous. ... He adds to our speed on the wings and he's a bigger body. It's certainly going to help our team out, where he fits out and in the role that he finds for himself on the team will be defined over training camp."

Texier was relieved and a bit surprised at the move. Columbus at the time didn't feel like it could afford to pay Texier; he was happy in Columbus but understands the business and once it became known he would be moving on to St. Louis, he was excited.

"Pretty happy. Kind of surprised," Texier said. "I didn't know what to expect really after my season contract-wise. Pretty happy to be here and guys seem pretty good. They all welcomed me pretty nice. I feel pretty good. I like the city. It's kind of the same as Columbus. Small but everything is close. I really like it."

Last season was Texier's first full season, playing in 78 games and finishing with a career-high in goals (12), assists (18) and points (30) averaging 15:11 ice time per game; he has 79 points (34 goals, 45 assists) in 201 regular-season games.

"I think I was pretty positive about it (in Columbus)," Texier said. "It's part of the business. You don't really know what's tomorrow. I was taking my time and the agent called me and I was like, 'Yeah, 100 percent, let's see what's next for me.' I had a pretty good summer, came prepared and I can't wait to play games now."

The Blues had Texier on a wing when camp opened with Zach Dean and Alexey Toropchenko but on Monday, he was centering Brandon Saad and Jakub Stancl, a project that sounds familiar, kind of the one they're experimenting with another multi-faceted skater, Pavel Buchnevich.

"I think that's a conversation that we could probably have," Bannister said of Texier playing center. "I don't want to jump the gun too early and say it is something we're looking at but it certainly is an option and something that I want to make sure he's comfortable with too if we decide to do that."

Texier doesn't care where he plays. He sees a roster that fits into the fabric of how he likes to play.

"There's good, talented, young people, some veteran guys too," Texier said of the Blues. "You've got to earn your spot. It's kind of the same in every team, even in Columbus after my first, second year. In training camp, you've got to push yourself and earn your spot, play good during the exhibition games and that's what I'm going to try to do, try to be myself as a player.

"I expect a lot of myself. I think that's the next big step for me. I'm 25 and they expect probably the same thing. They expect high from me. It's good when you expect high things from yourself and I know I have support from my teammates and my management and now you've just got to prove it on the ice.

"I like that we're a pretty fast team. We've got a mix of everything, young talent, veteran guys, a lot of experience. I think we're going in the right direction. I think we're fast and I think the new game in the NHL is playing fast with a lot of speed, pace, intense and I think we have everything. We just have to play games and see and figure it out inside the room."

Texier said he thinks the offense will come with more opportunity in St. Louis but wants to hone in on being consistent away from the puck on the defensive side. He earned that trust in Columbus as a penalty killer last season and wants to continue the trend.

"Talking to the coaching staff today, they thought he was outstanding on the other side. I didn't see it," Bannister said. "... The offensive side is there and I think he would be correct in saying most offensive guys have to work on their defensive game. We'll see, but I think he has the ability to move up and down your lineup. I don't think we have him penciled in on your bottom six. I think he's a player that can push for spots in your top six too. But I think there's the ability to obviously with his speed to score goals and we've seen that at this level, but on the other side, as a team, not just as an individual, we have to become a better team defensively. It's not only him that we're going to be asking that from; we'll be asking that from everybody."

Texier does have a couple familiar language-speaking teammates now in Mathieu and P.O. Joseph on the roster but really doesn't know anyone from the past that's he's familiar with. But it will come with time.

"I'll figure it out, talk to the guys and get to know them," Texier said with a grin. "Should be good."

Related: Drew Bannister impressed by St. Louis Blues prospect Simon Robertsson

Related: Broberg, Holloway won't shy away, embrace pressure of signing offer sheets

Related: St. Louis Blues reduce training camp roster by 10