Sports
Ryan O'Reilly To Be Named St. Louis Blues Captain
O'Reilly had an unforgettable first year with the Blues in 2019 where he led the team to their first Stanley cup.
December 21, 2020
The St. Louis Blues will soon have a new captain, and it's no surprise to many fans.
According to reports by The Athletic, the Note is expected to name Ryan O'Reilly the 23rd captain in club history. O'Reilly had an unforgettable first year with the Blues in 2019 where he led the team to their first Stanley cup. He was also named the playoff MVP.
Find out what's happening in St. Louisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Canadian native will take over for Alex Pietrangelo who signed a free-agent deal with the Las Vegas Golden Knights this offseason. The hockey season will kick off in 23 days after the NHL reached an agreement with the players Sunday to start the regular season on Jan. 13.
Training camp will begin on Jan. 3 but there won't be any preseason games. There will be 56 games in the regular season, with it coming to an end about a month later than usual, on May 8.
The Blues will be switching to the west division for this year only which means they'll face the Knights and their former captain eight times.
Find out what's happening in St. Louisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The change in the division also means more late starts, many games will begin at 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. And there could be some intriguing Stanley Cup matchups. If the Blues make it back, it's possible they could face teams in the central division like the Chicago Blackhawks.