Colton Parayko Explains Rejected Blues Trade to Sabres After 'Crazy Day' of NHL Rumors

The St. Louis Blues agreed to a trade sending defenseman Colton Parayko to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. But Parayko chose against waiving his no-trade clause to remain in St. Louis, describing it as a "crazy day" as he decided whether to stay or go.

"You're thinking about lots of things, from hockey to personal, everything," he told Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic. "I still have (four more seasons) on my contract. You kind of just go back and forth. ... I love wearing the Blue Note. This is my 11th season here, and it's a special thing. Yeah, I'm just happy to be a Blue."

Parayko said his decision wasn't based on any aversions about potentially playing for the Sabres.

"No, none, not at all," he said. "They have a great team and they're one of the hottest teams in the league right now. Guys love playing there, and they have a good alumni group. It actually kind of sounds a little bit like St. Louis with our alumni group. So that's definitely not the case at all, and it sucks that it gets portrayed that way because it got out. But it has nothing to do with the organization at all. It's just at this specific time, when I had to make a decision, I love being a Blue, so that's it."

The Blues reportedly would have received a first-round pick and prospect defenseman Radim Mrtka for the 32-year-old Parayko, who has spent his entire NHL career in St. Louis. This season he's registered a goal and 13 assists and has a minus-14 plus-minus.