from Sportsnet,

No defenceman will demand quite as much attention when NHL free agency opens on Oct. 9 as Alex Pietrangelo, the St. Louis Blues captain who has spent his entire career with the franchise and helped lead it to its first-ever Stanley Cup last season.

Pietrangelo’s seven-year contract, that carried a cap hit of $6.5 million per year, is set to expire this off-season and — valuable to St. Louis as he may be — securing him to a new deal has proven challenging.

“There was a discussion today, and I guess the best way to sum it up, we haven’t really made much progress,” Pietrangelo told Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic.“We just think right now, with where things are at, that maybe it’s best for both sides to see what’s going on in free agency, what the team can explore, what I can explore and if there are better fits for each side.

“We’re a little disappointed that we’re in this situation. We weren’t able to hammer out the details what we wanted in a deal. There was some work that we tried to get done that we couldn’t get done, so both sides agreed that maybe it’s in the best interest. We’re two weeks away. Not saying anything can’t change, but as of right now, that’s kind of our plan, and we’ll see where things go.”

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