ST. LOUIS — It appears one of the staples of the Blues' franchise for the past 10 seasons is heading off for a new challenge.
Multiple outlets, including The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford, are reporting that Blues forward Jaden Schwartz is planning to sign with the Seattle Kraken in free agency. Schwartz was an unrestricted free agent heading into this offseason.
The Blues drafted Schwartz with the 14th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft out of Colorado College.
In 10 years in St. Louis, Schwartz scored 154 goals and tallied 231 assists in 560 games. Schwartz also scored 24 goals and notched 26 assists in 82 career playoff games for St. Louis. He was one of the team's most lethal scorers during their run to the 2019 Stanley Cup, scoring 12 goals in 26 games, eclipsing his entire goal total during that regular season.
Schwartz would be arguably the biggest add so far for the newly-formed Kraken this offseason after the team completed its expansion draft earlier in July.
It could continue to be an offseason of change for the Blues, who already lost defenseman Vince Dunn to the Kraken in the expansion draft. Oft-injured star forward Vladimir Tarasenko also requested a trade during the offseason.