After the last season, Joel Edmundson became a restricted free agent and had to go on an arbitration hearing on wages on Wednesday. Instead, the player chose to negotiate with his club and signed a new contract for one year.
Under the new contract with St. Louis Blues Edmundson will earn US$3 million, which far exceeds the US$1.2 million he received last season.
The 25-year-old defenceman was born in Brandon, Manitoba. His career began in 2008 in the local team Brandon Wheat Kings in MMHL. After two successful seasons, Joel joined the Moose Jaw Warriors from Saskatchewan. In the squad of this team, Edmundson played three seasons in WHL, as well as one season in WHL he held for Kamloops Blazers.
In 2011 Edmundson was chosen in the second round of NHL Draft (46 overall) by St. Louis Blues. In March 2013, he signed an entry-level contract with the Blues and began to play for Chicago Wolves in AHL. Chicago Wolves is an affiliate team of St. Louis Blues.
In 2015, Joel debuted in the St. Louis Blues first team in NHL. In the first year, he played 67 matches of the regular season and 16 matches of the playoffs. In these games, he scored 2 goals and gave 8 assists.
During three seasons in NHL, Edmundson played 205 matches of the regular season, where he was able to score 11 goals and to make 30 assists. Also, the defenceman played 27 playoff games with 4 goals scored and 3 assists.