Blues Captain Opens Up About Ongoing Trade Rumors

If everything was up to Ryan O'Reilly, he'd be signing a long-term contract extension in St Louis and finish out his career as a Blue. Unfortunately for him, it's a business and things could change with one phone call.

The St Louis Blues captain is a pending unrestricted free agent and even though he's currently hurt with a broken foot and not expected back until a couple of weeks before the trade deadline, there's a number of teams interested in O'Reilly should the Blues decide to move him. O'Reilly understands the business aspect of hockey and had this to say about what he hopes transpires:

Yeah, we're starting to get a little dialogue going. I think there will be some talks kind of going forward here, but yeah, there's no timeline or such. That's kind of all I can really give you on that. This is where I want to be. I hope I don't get moved, but I think things will probably progress, especially with the deadline coming up and the talks with that. We'll see how it goes. We're starting to get into that. I still get messages from buddies every time - you're rumored to this team, you're rumored to that team. It's honestly in one ear and out the other at this point. If anything, it's a distraction, and I don't want it to be a distraction for the team. You hear stuff, but like I said, in one ear, out the other. Yeah, I want to make it work, but I also want to hold my value, too. At the end of the day, it is a business, and if we can’t succeed, and you can't do the job as a leader, then I could (see) them getting rid of me.

O'Reilly is due over $7 million against the cap this season and has 10 goals and six assists in 37 games this season. 

Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports