Alex Pietrangelo frustrated over lack of deal with Blues

Pending unrestricted free agent Alex Pietrangelo may not play the remainder of his career with the St. Louis Blues, which seems pretty odd given the amount of success he's found with the organization over the years.

Pietrangelo was drafted by the Blues fourth overall in 2008, and he'd probably like to play out the remainder of his career in St. Louis. With free agency just around the corner, the 30-year-old revealed he's getting frustrated about the lack of progress toward a new deal. 

"It's been a little disappointing that (the St. Louis Blues and I) haven't been able to get a deal done, obviously," Pietrangelo said, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "But this is the situation that we're in, we're over three weeks away from Oct. 9 (the beginning of free agency). ... There hasn't been much in terms of progress."

Pietrangelo signed a seven-year deal with the Blues in 2013 and has served as the team's captain for the last four seasons. If the Stanley Cup-winning defenseman hits the open market, he'll be among the most pursued players in the league next month. 

While he has openly expressed his desire to remain in St. Louis, the club has just over $5 million in cap space this offseason, which will make it extremely difficult for the Blues to retain him. If he signs with a new team, he'll end up similarly to former Blues captain David Backes, who signed with the Boston Bruins as a free agent after the 2015-16 season. 

Pietrangelo tallied 16 goals and 54 points in 70 games for the Blues this season after helping lift the club to their first-ever Stanley Cup title in 2019.