The news leaked a day early, but on Thursday the St. Louis Blues made it official: Alex Pietrangelo is the 21st captain in the club’s history.
Selected fourth overall in 2008, Pietrangelo has played 459 games for the Blues, with 51 goals and 255 points in that span. He takes over the ‘C’ from David Backes, who signed with the Boston Bruins as a free agent this summer, following the Blues’ run to the Western Conference Final.
“Watching him perform when the game is on the line, he doesn’t seem to get rattled,” said Blues GM Doug Armstrong of Pietrangelo, as per the club’s website.
“As the captain, you have to answer questions, the tough questions when games are over. I really like his personality, his demeanor to his teammates, to the coaching staff and to the media. He’s someone that has the respect of everyone.”
In an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at the end of July, Pietrangelo praised Backes for the impact he had on the young defenseman as he was developing with the Blues.
“I think being so close with Dave over the five years he was captain, I’ve learned a lot from him just kind of sitting back and seeing how he operates on a daily basis,” said Pietrangelo.
“Not only on the ice but off the ice, which is a big part of it trying to keep the locker room together and doing the off-ice stuff.”
From one St. Louis 'C' to another... #stlblueshttps://t.co/7VaKp4a2j8
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) August 25, 2016
The Blues also announced that Alexander Steen, Paul Stastny, Vladimir Tarasenko and Kevin Shattenkirk were named as assistant captains.
Army on Shattenkirk getting 'A' despite trade speculation: "It would have been a disservice not to make him an A. He's earned the right."
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) August 25, 2016
Army on Tarasenko: "He's where Petro was a few years ago when he got the A. This is a natural progression of his growth as a person/player."
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) August 25, 2016