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NHL Rumors: Alex Pietrangelo will be next St. Louis Blues captain

By Dave Stevenson

Oct 19, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (27) skates with the puck against the Anaheim Ducks during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 19, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (27) skates with the puck against the Anaheim Ducks during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Alex Pietrangelo is reportedly going to be named the 21st captain in St. Louis Blues’ history.

David Backes served as the captain of the St. Louis Blues since the beginning of the 2011-12 season. Backes signed with the Boston Bruins earlier this offseason, leaving the position vacant. The Blues have wasted no time, as they are reportedly going to name defenseman Alex Pietrangelo as their next team captain.

Pietrangelo will be the 21st team captain in Blues history. He will be their first defenseman to serve as captain since Eric Brewer. Four of their past six captains have been defensemen. Pietrangelo has served as an alternate captain for the Blues since the beginning of the 2012-13 season.

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The Blues didn’t have too many options for their next captain. Alexander Steen would have been a solid pick as well since he has been an alternate captain since the 2011-12 season. Vladimir Tarasenko has yet to mature enough to be a potential captain. Jay Bouwmeester is declining quickly and likely won’t be around too much longer.

Pietrangelo is the right choice to be the next Blues captain. The 26-year-old defenseman has shown that he can handle a leadership role. He has 158 points in 282 games as an alternate captain. Pietrangelo’s future as a captain became inevitable once he became an alternate captain at the age of 23.

The Blues defenseman had 37 points in 2015-16 in 73 games, averaging a team high 26:18 of ice time per game. He plays in all situations and flourishes in all of them. While his advanced stats are not impressive, it is worth noting that he is often paired with Bouwmeester. His puck possession are noticeably better without Bouwmeester. Pietrangelo helped the Blues reach the Western Conference Finals with two goals and 10 points in 20 playoff games.

With Pietrangelo, the Blues are in good shape to build off of the success that they had with Backes as their captain.

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