Pietrangelo has plenty to ponder, including legacy, with free agency looming

Blues captain will be unrestricted free agent one week after 

Stanley Cup Final if he doesn't resign with team that drafted him in 2008

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Players never typically get involved when it comes to other players' business matters. They don't feel it's their place to do so, but David Perron took a stab at it when asked to make a pitch on why the Blues should keep close friend Alex Pietrangelo and what would it be.

"Just so he can buy more houses in St. Louis. The guy might as well be a realtor," Perron joked. "He loves going around town and thinking he can look at different places."

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues defenseman and captain Alex Pietrangelo (right) defends a play

earlier in the season against the New York Islanders and Derick Brassard.

So ... if someone happens to see Pietrangelo in a neighborhood near you, and he's critiquing your property, don't be surprised.

"My dad did it and still does a little bit of that on the side, so I enjoy it," Pietrangelo said. "It's just kind of something I enjoy doing. 

"Tell David that he can come pick up his suitcase anytime he wants because it's sitting in my garage. He might want to make fun of me, but I don't feel like hoarding his stuff any longer."

And the story to this is?

"He went home (to Quebec) to get his wife and his kids, so for some reason, I offered to take (Perron's suitcase) home because we were neighbors in the hotel," Pietrangelo said. "I was just the easy person to grab it and we live close to each other. Maybe I'll open it up and see what he's got in there to see if he's got anything good."

And this is the kind of friendship Pietrangelo has with not only Perron, but many on the roster. It's the kind of culture the Blues have built up, and close relationships are all part of it.

That's why when the subject comes up of staying or going for Pietrangelo, a pending unrestricted free agent, the Blues captain the past four years and player the past 10 full seasons (12 in all) in St. Louis says all the right things but knows there are no guarantees.

"Obviously, I want to stay a Blue. Of course I do," Pietrangelo said. "It's the only place I've known in professional hockey.

"All that (friendships includes) factors in. Ask any of my teammates how close I am with my family, not just my immediate family. I've got sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws, nieces and nephews (here). All that's stuff's important to me, but then again, they understand the business side of things and the situation that we're in. Look, if this decision was something that we weren't thinking hard about, we wouldn't be in this spot. I give my wife (Jayne) credit too for really allowing me to think hard about this because there's a lot of things that need to be taken into consideration here moving forward. It's not a fun thing to go through, it's not easy, but again, when you have a solid base at home, I've got my wife and my kids and my wife supports everything that I do, it makes the process a little bit easier because you can take your time, sit back and evaluate everything that needs to be evaluated to make the right decision."

Imagine Pietrangelo, who completed a seven-year, $45.5 million ($6.5 million average annual value) contract signed Sept. 13, 2013, putting on another jersey just doesn't seem right, but with the Blues having little cap space and the 30-year-old due a raise and potentially looking at his last lengthy and financially large contract, the possibility seems real.

Pietrangelo, who helped the Blues win their first Stanley Cup in 2019, has 450 points (109 goals, 341 assists) in 758 regular-season games and 51 points (eight goals, 43 assists) in 92 Stanley Cup Playoff games, could follow in a similar path of David Backes, who left via free agency after the 2015-16 season as captain and signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins.

But if Perron, Pietrangelo's teammate since Pietrangelo was drafted fourth overall by the Blues in 2008, can offer some advice to his close friend, the grass isn't always greener on the other side, nor is the right fit.

"For my own perspective, all I can tell is obviously you go into other places and sometimes it doesn't always play out the way you'd like," Perron said. "Maybe you think it's a perfect situation and it doesn't turn out to be. Even coming back to St. Louis for me, I'm sure there's some fans that weren't sure of David Perron for a third time, but it's went pretty good so far. You just try to make the best of it every place you go. I went to Pittsburgh and thought that maybe it was going to be the best situation in my career and probably was the one I enjoyed the least. Maybe with Edmonton with the way we were losing there just because the way it turned out. I couldn't find my game there. It's very hard. Petro's our leader, probably our best player most nights with (Ryan) O'Reilly. The way he played this year with this whole situation was extremely impressive. We play our whole careers to win the Cup. I think he wants to feel like he's respected. He wants to feel like he gets his share of things. I think he deserves it too.

"I think they obviously love St. Louis, Jayne is from St. Louis. I don't think there's a doubt that he would like to stay. I'm honestly going to just stay out of it, to be honest with you."

The question that looms is what does Pietrangelo want and how much does he want? Does any of that matter right at this moment since free agency does not begin until one week after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Final? Does it really matter after the craziness of this entire season, in which free agency was supposed to start on July 1?

"I mean look, me and my wife, we continue to talk about it," Pietrangelo said. "There are obviously conversations that have to be had between each other. Is there much to talk about? No, the situation is what it is. The off-season is going to come quicker than we know it. We're having those discussions between us. The best part about me is I have a distraction. I have these (three) kids here (and one on the way in September) and they can kind of keep me busy and keep my mind off it. Really, I haven't given it a whole lot of thought lately, or not much. Just trying to soak all this in after being gone for so long."

How about the fact that when all is said and done, Pietrangelo, should be decide to stay and all but play his entire career here, have a statue outside Enterprise Center right there with Bernie Federko, Al MacInnis and Brett Hull? What would it mean to have No. 27 retired up in the rafters with the aforementioned three, Bob Bassoff, Bob and Barclay Plager and Brian Sutter?

"Legacy is obviously important," Pietrangelo said. "This organization means a lot to me. You see Al come around, you see all the other alumni who are around regularly. That means a lot, right? It's guys who have a great relationship with the organization that have been around and have set their roots in St. Louis. But whether it's here or somewhere else, you want to play to the best of your ability and leave a legacy wherever you are. That goes along with on the ice and off the ice and try to impact the organization in the community. So whether it's here or anywhere else, I think it's important for me to really kind of set my roots wherever it is and I know my wife feels the same way."

And think, when Pietrangelo retires one day down the road, to be able to bring Evelyn, Oliver and Theodore down to where their dad played when they know better will mean plenty. But Pietrangelo knows he'll need to do more in order for that to happen.

"I think I need to accomplish more in order to get that, but for me personally, of course it matters," Pietrangelo said. "If we do come back to St. Louis or we stay in St. Louis, whatever it is, I know my wife would like to come back. You know what it's like marrying a girl from St. Louis, right? You're going to end up retiring here. Let's call it what it is. I think being able to take my kids down to games and they see that stuff would obviously be important to me. That always goes back to what you said, I'm always thinking about my family and what I can show my kids. That would obviously be something that would be special for sure."

Blues fans just hope that the lasting picture of Perron and Pietrangelo, with Perron's arm around his friend after the Blues were eliminated in Game 6 against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, isn't the last time Pietrangelo dons the Bluenote.

"Yeah, it's very hard. I've seen this picture flow around," Perron said. "I didn't do that thinking there was going to be pictures taken, but I could tell Petro was feeling it pretty good there. He was pretty choked (up) to be honest with you. It got me choked up a little bit too. Even thinking about it right now talking about it, I really hope he's going to be around I'm really good friends with him and his family. We've played a long time together now and we're always going to be close, regardless of what happens, but there's a business side of things here that could alter things maybe, I don't know, I don't want to get into that because it's not really my thing. That's his and the team and I don't know too much about the situation other than I really support him. I support him for anything he's going to choose to do. That's really my comments on that, but yeah that picture, I just kind of felt like he was thinking maybe it could be his last moments or not as a Blue. I just felt that I had to be there for him."

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Did David Perron and Alex Pietrangelo (left) walk off together as teammates

of the Blues for the final time last Friday? 

"I remember the moment," Pietrangelo said. "I guess when the game's over and I'm thinking the situation that I'm in, I know David and I are really close friends. I appreciated it. I think he understood when I was thinking at the time. I don't know, it might be the last time I wear the jersey and last time I play with him too. For him and I, we're close friends, we've been through a lot together, played a long time together. That's what friends and obviously he knows I think the world of him. I appreciated that. That's why you have friends and teammates that kind of helps you through things. I definitely appreciated it. 

"... I hope it doesn't get to that point. I grew up here. This is the only place I know professionally. Family's here, I grew up here. Grew up here as a player and as a person. It's part of the business unfortunately and the situation is what it is, but hopefully that circumstance doesn't happen and we'll see where this thing takes us."