Restricted free agent defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will not be reporting to the start of St. Louis Blues training camp, manager Doug Armstrong announced Wednesday morning. Pietrangelo and the Blues are currently attempting to negotiate a new contract.
Alex Pietrangelo contract: Talks have ‘broken off’ with Blues, says GM
Alex Pietrangelo won’t be reporting to training camp, as contract talks have broken off with the St. Louis Blues.
Dilip Vishwanat
According to Armstrong, negotiations have ended for the time being.
“Talks between the Blues and Alex’s camp have broken off for now and Alex will not be reporting for our camp today,” Armstrong said.
Blues on-ice practices are scheduled to begin on Thursday at noon.
The two sides are reportedly discussing an eight-year contract, but have failed to find common ground on the annual compensation of such an agreement. TSN’s Bob McKenzie previously reported that Pietrangelo’s camp is looking for a $7 million annual average value while the Blues are looking for something closer to $6 million.
Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch previously wrote that the two sides might opt for a short-term contract that would pay Pietrangelo $3 million annually.
Ultimately, the Blues hope to get Pietrangelo into camp sooner than later. Largely considered one of the best young defenseman in the game, Pietrangelo averaged over 25 minutes of average ice-time per game in 2013, which ranked 12th in the entire NHL.
A date to keep note of is Dec. 1 considering Pietrangelo will need to have a contract in place by that date or he will not be permitted to play during the 2013-14 regular season. Of course, that date is still far away from being a concern.
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