Rumor: Early signs point to Pietrangelo leaving the Blues.

The relationship between the St. Louis Blues and their captain Alex Pietrangelo has been long established but there is a growing sense that not all is well between the NHL's most recent Stanley Cup Champions and arguably the best player in their lineup.

In recent comments reported by National Hockey League insider Pierre LeBrun, Pietrangelo revealed his frustration at how the process had played out thus far between him and the Blues. It is easy to see why Pietrangelo might be a little upset here, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong saw fit to sign Marco Scandella to a four year contract extension during the regular season but has not seen fit to extend what many deem to be a franchise type of player in Pietrangelo. I don't want to put any words into Pietrangelo's mouth here so I want to make it clear that this is purely speculative, but would anyone be surprised if Pietrangelo had felt disrespected by a move of that nature?

Here's what the man himself had to say about still being in contract limbo with free agency drawing so close.

“It’s been a little disappointing that we haven’t been able to get a deal done, obviously,” admitted Pietrangelo as per LeBrun “But this is the situation that we’re in, we’re over three weeks away from Oct. 9. There hasn’t been a whole lot of discussion where things are at. We’ll see if things pick up here shortly. There hasn’t been much in terms of progress. But at the same time, I guess anything can happen, over the next couple of weeks when it comes down to crunch time when a free agent starts to look forward knowing Oct. 9 is just a couple of weeks away.”

The fact that there has been little in the way of talk or progress, at least according to Pietrangelo's own words, is yet another worrying sign that the two sides may actually be headed for a split here. At this point if you're Pietrangelo, unless you are doing so for family reasons, is there any offer that the Blues would make that could prevent you from hitting the open market? Everyone, including Pietrangelo's agents no doubt, know that there will be a bidding war for his services if he isn't signed by October 9th, and this close to free agency I would want to know what people believe I am worth.

It is believed that the Blues made Pietrangelo an offer when the season came to a close but the belief is that, obviously, the offer was rejected given that he is currently not signed to a new deal. There is of course still plenty of time for things to change here, after all the two sides have a little over 3 weeks now to get down to business, but the early indications would appear to indicate that Pietrangelo is heading to the open market.