Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson received a one-year, $3.1 million contract in an arbitration ruling handed down on Tuesday.

The amount falls fairly close to the midpoint of the numbers put out by the two sides in the case. The Blues had offered $2.3 million for Edmundson in a one-year deal and the player had countered at $4.2 million, after he made $3 million last season on a one-year deal reached shortly before he was to go to an arbitration hearing. Per capfriendly.com, the walkaway minimum for an arbitration ruling this season is $4,397,832, so the Blues have to accept the deal.

Edmundson will be an unrestricted free agent when the contract expires.

It's been a matter of bad timing for Edmundson. He was in line for a decent raise and a longer-term deal after the 2017-18 season, but with the team not making the playoffs that season, general manager Doug Armstrong said it would difficult to justify a raise, so the sides agreed to a one-year deal.