ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - For months, there have been rampant speculation on who would succeed Ryan O'Reilly as the next captain of the St. Louis Blues.
On Tuesday, the Blues ended that speculation, naming Brayden Schenn the 24th captain in franchise history.
Schenn will succeed O'Reilly, who was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs right before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline. While there might've been some hope from Blues fans that O'Reilly could return to the Blues in the offseason, ultimately those dreams died when O'Reilly decided to join Central Division rival Nashville Predators on a four-year deal worth $18 million.
It was pretty obvious that the choice to succeed O'Reilly as the next captain of the Blues was likely between Schenn, center Robert Thomas, and defenseman Colton Parayko.
All three players served as alternate captain for the team last season, with Schenn and Parayko each have served three years a piece in the role while Thomas was rewarded the "A" on his jersey last season.
Schenn will look to lead the Blues back to the playoffs after a disappointing 2022-23 season in which injuries, a regression in the offense and defensive efficiencies hurt the team dearly last season. Those problems costed the Blues, leading the team to miss the postseason for the 10th time ever in franchise history, first since 2017-18.
There will be a bit of familiar and new faces this season for the team as the Blues acquired forward Kevin Hayes in a deal with the Philadelphia Flyers while forwards Oskar Sundqvist and Mackenzie MacEachern also return to the Blues after a year away from the team.
The team will also hope to see more players healthy this season, though so far, one particular Blues player will miss the start of training camp as defenseman Torey Krug, whose name was the subject of trade speculation for the last year, injured his right foot while training. He will be revaluated in early October.
