Blues' Schenn understands trade speculation: 'People make rumors'

St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn is aware that his name is in the rumor mill with the March 7 trade deadline just eight days away.

"Honestly, it's like the times I've gotten traded, I didn't expect to get traded," he said Thursday, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "So, you really never know. I've always said I love it here in St. Louis.

"It's a great organization, a great place to play. I definitely know it's a business and that just comes with the flows of kind of where we're positioned, five points out of the playoffs. But it's the trade deadline, so some people make rumors. ... You just take it a day at a time and just focus on your game and play."

St. Louis (27-26-6) currently has a 13.2% chance of making the postseason, per MoneyPuck.

Schenn has been traded twice in his career. First, he was sent to the Philadelphia Flyers by the Los Angeles Kings, who selected him with the fifth overall pick at the 2009 NHL Draft:

Exactly six years later, Philadelphia shipped him off to St. Louis:

Schenn has more control of his destiny this time around, though, in the form of a full no-trade clause that switches to a 15-team no-trade list starting July 1.

Though Schenn would have to approve any deal, it isn't difficult to see why teams would be interested in acquiring him.

The veteran forward has 12 goals and 22 assists in 59 outings this season and is on pace for his fourth 40-point campaign in a row. Although he's tracking to fall short of the 20-goal milestone for the first time since pandemic-shortened 2020-21, he's hit that mark on eight occasions, including in his previous three seasons.

Schenn also won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly among the squads eyeing Schenn, but the Blues are apparently expecting a "mammoth" return for his services, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

The 33-year-old has three more years remaining on his deal with a $6.5-million cap hit.

Schenn is set to skate in his 1,000th NHL game Thursday against the Washington Capitals. He and Nashville Predators defenseman Luke Schenn are the eighth set of brothers to hit the milestone and the first to do it in the same season, per The Associated Press.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman recently reported that he believes teams have discussed uniting the Schenn brothers. They played together for four seasons on the Flyers.