Blues Still Lamenting Decision To Let Pietrangelo Sign With Golden Knights

In the summer of 2020, the NHL’s Western Conference took a massive shift with one offseason acquisition. The St. Louis Blues desperately tried to retain their Stanley Cup-winning defenseman, but the terms were unappealing for both parties. The Blues felt that they had offered all they could, while Alex Pietrangelo was expecting an offer he couldn’t refuse. Well, he did, and the rest is history.

After an arduous first season in Vegas, Pietrangelo settled in and helped lead them to a Stanley Cup championship. Since that offseason, both teams have gone in opposite directions. The Blues were even nice enough to invite the Golden Knights to their 2023 fire sale and sold them Ivan Barbashev near the trade deadline.

VGK vs STL Since 2020-21:

• Wins: VGK (179), STL (156)
• Points: VGK (385), STL (345)
• Goals Scored: (982), STL (970)
• Goals Allowed: (834), STL (952)
• Playoff Wins: VGK (29), STL (6)
• Playoff Series Won: VGK (6), STL (1)
• Stanley Cup Trophies: VGK (1), STL (0)

This week St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong opened up on the Cam and Strick Podcast about the summer deal that was denied and forced his former captain to leave Missouri for Nevada. Watching Pietrangelo go on to have more success with the Golden Knights clearly torments Armstrong to this day.

I understand who does the work in an organization. It’s the guys on the ice. If I could go back in time to make that work, I would have done it. It didn’t work and I’m disappointed in it. –Doug Armstrong, Blues GM on Cam And Strick Podcast

After the ink dried the uprooted defenseman fondly reflected on his time in St. Louis and had hoped something would work out with the Blues. However, he wasn’t regretting his new contract and opportunity with the Golden Knights. St. Louis’ championship window closed after their successful 2019 Stanley Cup Finals run and Vegas’ was wide open.

That’s obviously the difficult part of making a decision like we did, right, as a family. Even the people that maybe don’t understand it, or don’t agree with it, no one really will understand except for me and my wife because it was our decision to make. People know how important the city of St. Louis is to me. Look, my kids were born there. There’s a lot of things that are special to me in that city, and it will always be that way, right? I understand both sides of it. It’s just people should know how important the city is to me and how important it will always be. But when push comes to shove, when it’s work, I’m going to have to push those feelings aside. -Alex Pietrangelo, 1/25/21

St. Louis’ upper management felt the need to control their cap spending and slightly overpaying for a known commodity was not in their best interest. Both sides went back and forth for months trying to work on an extension in 2019 with no success. After the initial negotiations were at a stalemate, the possibility of Pietrangelo being on the move became highly likely. It’s possible that Armstrong and his Blues advisors believed the 3x All-Star was bluffing. Ultimately, it paid off for the player and not the unsettled executive.

When asked why the deal broke down, Armstrong declined to get into details. Frankly, it doesn’t sound like he wants Blues fans knowing how foolish it was to let Pietrangelo walk in free agency.

I don’t want to get into it. He’s still playing, and I’m still working. The next year I was doing the Olympics, and we had to make our core guys and I named him as one of those core guys. The respect I have for the guy is unbelievable and he’s still chugging along and doing a hell of a job. –Doug Armstrong, Blues GM on Cam And Strick Podcast

Not only does Armstrong highly respect his former captain but he believes Pietrangelo should be immortalized in front of St. Louis’ Enterprise Center. It sounds like there will potentially be an open spot alongside the statues of Bernie Federko, Brett Hull and Al MacInnes.

Heck, if Pietrangelo wins another Stanley Cup with Vegas, he might have statues in two different cities when his career comes to a close.

There’s not a day that goes by and see those statues outside the arena, and it doesn’t cross my mind that he should have one. –Doug Armstrong, Blues GM on Cam And Strick Podcast

The future Hall of Famer has three years remaining on his 7-year/$61.6M contract and there are no signs of him slowing down. Pietrangelo still covers top lines, logs heavy minutes, and can skate in all situations. When his contract with Vegas ends, the 16-year veteran will be 38. He could sign an extension with the Golden Knights, retire, or return to St. Louis to bookend his career. However it ends, both teams got their money’s worth with the 4th overall selection in 2008.