Despite a decently successful March campaign, the St. Louis Blues’ 2025-26 season offers little hope. The team is several spots behind the Wild Card playoff berth, and going into the trade deadline, it was known that the Blues would be sellers.
As former captain Brayden Schenn tries to acclimate to the New York Islanders and recalibrate his efforts to match a team that has some serious odds of a deep postseason run, the 34-year-old has shared with the world that a trade from the Blues was long overdue.
Brayden Schenn Reveals Blues Asked Him to Waive No-Trade Clause Twice
The community expected the Blues front office to be busy come the deadline, and it was. Doug Armstrong made swift moves to trade Justin Faulk to the Detroit Red Wings and Schenn to the Islanders. Robert Thomas, who was reportedly drawing widespread interest from different destinations ahead of the deadline, and Jordan Kyrou, who was also speculated to be a trade asset for the team, were ultimately retained.
Schenn’s exit marked the end of an eventful era in St. Louis. However, the move was also one that had been at the back of the Blues management’s mind for a while now, as the former captain has only recently shed some light on.
As loved as Schenn was by the Blues fans, there is now enough reason to believe that the franchise and the 34-year-old may have drifted apart in his final years with the team. According to him, the Blues had asked Schenn to waive his no-trade clause two years in a row. Ultimately, the forward conceded, and the trade to the Islanders went through.
“Well, when (the Blues) ask you two times two years in a row, that’s when it makes sense,” the former Blues captain revealed.
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Schenn believes that whatever vision the Blues had for themselves, he was not a part of it. “At some point, the organization doesn’t see you as part of the picture, and other teams want you, and it’s good to be wanted. They’re going in a different direction, and that’s the reality of it,” the forward shared with Blues writer Jeremy Rutherford.
Notwithstanding any differences that may have arisen between the Blues and Schenn, he remained a loved teammate and was well-respected in the locker room for his leadership and camaraderie. “I told him I wouldn’t be where I am as a person or player without him. I knew I wasn’t going to play with him forever, but I didn’t want it to go like this, if I could have a fantasy ending to it,” said Schenn’s former teammate, 23-year-old Jake Neighbours, who has clearly felt the toll of bidding the 34-year-old goodbye.
However, Schenn wouldn’t have to wait long to return to Enterprise Center. The Blues and the Islanders are all set for a showdown on March 10 at 6:30 p.m. CDT and 7:30 p.m. ET.
