Blues GM said premature talk didn't come from their side after defenseman invoked no-trade clause to remain with St. Louis after reported deal reached with Buffalo Sabres
Colton Parayko will remain a member of the St. Louis Blues, now and for the foreseeable future.
But two days ago, things weren't as clear, when news broke that the Blues and Buffalo Sabres had agreed to the framework that would have sent Parayko to the Sabres, for a reported package of 2025 first-round pick, defenseman Radim Mrtka and a first-round pick, as first reported by TSN's Darren Dreger:
But the problem was, is the deal wasn't actually done. Parayko, who has four more years remaining on his contract at a $6.5 million cap hit, has a full no-trade clause this season and for the next two before it fell off to a modified 15-team NTC.
The player had to sign off on the deal first. The information got out first of a done deal before the player signed off, ultimately which Parayko never did when he invoked his clause and chose not to waive:
Needless to say, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong, who has always kept this type of information close to his vest, was not thrilled.
"Any time there's a trade leak, I find it very disappointing," Armstrong said after talking about the trades of Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk on Friday. "For the people that know me, we run a pretty tight ship as far as communication coming in and out. We did some due diligence as soon as that happened. We checked the phone records of all of our staff, texts and emails and everybody passed the test, not surprisingly. So I was disappointed it got out. I know it didn't come from us."
And just like the Torey Krug situation of 2023 when he invoked his NTC ad vetoed a potential trade to the Philadelphia Flyers, there could be some awkwardness now between the organization and Parayko. But as Armstrong said, this is all business, and since Parayko exercised his right to remain in a city he loves, there's no ill will.
"I don't spend a lot of time on trades that didn't happen. Players negotiate their trade right based on their status on the team and in the league and some players have full no-trade clauses, some players have partial no-trade clauses," Armstrong said. "The Blues are at the lower end at the full no-trade clauses and right about the middle of the no-trade partials combined. We're an average team to sign those players to provide those types of guarantees. I respect when players ... if they decide to invoke the right that they've earned, that's great and that means they want to be here and that's exciting. We've asked players to waive, like Brayden Schenn. With the direction that we were going and the way we explained it to him, he was excited for a new opportunity to go to an upstart Islander team with the most exciting young player with Schaefer and Celebrini, these are the next generation of stars and he has an opportunity to play with him."
And now Parayko will get to usher in the next generation of Blues.
It's a topic that can always be broached again, but at least for now, Parayko's 11-year career in St. Louis continues, and rightfully so.
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