Alex Pietrangelo collected two assists in St. Louis' regular-season opener. He assisted on a power-play goal from David Backes and an even-strength tally by Vladimir Sobotka to give the Blues a 2-0 lead and an eventual 4-2 win over Nashville. Pietrangelo also logged a team-high 25:10 of ice time in the contest.

Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo excelled as the St. Louis Blues edged the Dallas Stars 3-2 in overtime in an exhibition game Saturday night. Pietrangelo, one of the best defensemen in the NHL, scored a goal and had an assist. Patrik Bergland scored the winner in overtime for the Blues. Jaden Schwarz posted the other St. Louis goal. Tyler Seguin, the Stars' big off-season acquisition, had two assists for Dallas. New Stars captain Jamie Benn and Alex Chiasson scored the goals for Dallas.

Alex Pietrangelo made his pre-season debut Friday night against Tampa. After missing time due to contract issues the talented Blues' defenseman played a game-high 26:46 against the Bolts. Pietrangelo is expected to play Saturday night against the Stars as well. St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock is obviously not too worried about Pietrangerlo's conditioning. The 23-year-old will be a top-10 defenseman this season and should be able produce approximately 50 points.

Alex Pietrangelo has signed a seven-year/$45.5 million contract with the St. Louis Blues. Pietrangelo was a restricted free agent and consequently missed the start of training camp, but that shouldn't have any impact on his fantasy value. This contract makes a lot of sense for St. Louis. Pietrangelo is only 23, but he's already firmly established himself as one of the top defensemen in the league. He has 29 goals and 121 points in 224 games since being taken with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry. He also averaged an incredible 25:07 minutes per game last season.

As training camp gets underway, Alex Pietrangelo is still a restricted free agent. "Talks between the Blues and Alex's camp have broken off for now and Alex will not be reporting for our camp today," said Blues GM Doug Armstrong. If Pietrangelo misses most or all of the preseason, it will probably have a negative impact on his production once the 2013-14 campaign starts. That being said, this is one of those situations that can change quickly and it wouldn't be shocking to see Pietrangelo agree to terms in the near future.

The St. Louis Blues are preparing for the possibility that Alex Pietrangelo won't be signed before the start of training camp. "I've talked to the coaches about the 'what ifs' on a few different situations," Blues GM Doug Armstrong said. "We're not going to replace Alex in eight days. We're not going to replace him in eight years. Our goal is to get him signed and when we get him signed, he'll be here. But we do have to have the proper amount of players to run practices and to make sure that we're getting what we want out of those exhibition games. We want players getting ready to play, but we don't want to overburden them. With him out, is it going to increase the burden on other players or do we find a way to fill that from the outside?" Meanwhile, Armstrong has firmly stated that the next time Pietrangelo plays, it will be with the Blues.

St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong reiterated the team's commitment to re-signing restricted free agent Alex Pietrangelo. "We've been clear on what we think of Alex as a person and as a player, that we want him here for the long term," Armstrong said. "We've made adjustments to our roster to ensure that we can keep him here. Alex is going to be a St. Louis Blue." The Blues have the cap space to ink him to a long-term contract if that's their desire, but at this point, it wouldn't be surprising if he signs a bridge contract similar to PK Subban's two-year, $5.75 million deal.

Alex Pietrangelo doesn't want his contract situation to become a holdout. "I've just kind of been moving forward as if I'm going to start the season like a regular year," said Pietrangelo, who is attending Canada's Olympic orientation camp. "I've been working hard all summer, trying to put it behind me here for this week and trying to enjoy this process and, you now, hopefully something gets done here in the short term." Starting the season on time would help his chances of representing Canada in Sochi, but right now he's focused on getting signed and being available for training camp.

Contract talks between the St. Louis Blues and Alex Pietrangelo are still ongoing, according to the defenseman's agent Don Meehan. Unfortunately, Meehan added that there's "Nothing really to report to you concerning Alex's contractual status." Pietrangelo is reportedly seeking $7 million per season, while the the Blues don't want to go over $6 million. GM George Armstrong said earlier this month that a short-term, or "bridge" contract, could occur.

The St. Louis Blues hope to have top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo signed to a new contract before training camp begins. "Each contract has it's own certain dynamics and Alex's representatives and myself are talking about a lot of different options," Blues GM Doug Armstrong said, "but it's going to have to be one that both sides are comfortable with. I don't think Alex will sign if he feels that it's win-lose in the Blues' favor --and I know the Blues won't sign if it looks like a win in his favor." It wouldn't be surprising if discussions lingered after the start of training camp. St. Louis has said they will match any offer sheet thrown his way as well.