Keith Tkachuk has been dealing with trade rumors for almost two years.

The rumblings he had been hearing recently picked up Tuesday morning, but Tkachuk thought nothing of it. After all, Tuesday was the trade deadline.

"I heard a lot of rumblings this morning," he said. "But I first saw coach and could tell something was up, something was different.

"Then, I found out about 10:30 or 11. I spoke to Cliff Fletcher, and he told me it was a financial decision and thanked me for handling things the way I did."

Rumors had become reality when the Coyotes captain was dealt to St. Louis for Ladislav Nagy, Michal Handzus, prospect Jeff Taffe and a first-round draft pick.

	Tkachuk won't wear the Picasso-esque Coyotes jersey -- or the captain's "C".

"I was with this organization for 10 years and felt it was my home," Tkachuk said. "The toughest part was telling my wife. She's emotionally attached to this place, as well as I was."

Tkachuk's agent, Bob Murray could tell his client had mixed emotions about leaving the only team in the NHL he had ever known

"I think it finally hit him that he was no longer a Phoenix Coyote," Murray said. "He realized that it was no longer his team, his locker room, his teammates."

After the situation settled down and the news had been digested and shared with his family -- as well as the whole hockey world -- Tkachuk found the new reality inviting: He was going to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

"I'm just excited to be a St. Louis Blue. Are you kidding me? I just hope we get a chance to win the Cup," Tkachuk said on Tuesday night as prepared to meet his new team on Wednesday in Minnesota. "If I had to go anywhere, St. Louis was always my first choice. I have my buddy Dallas Drake, and we always talked about being together again."

Tkachuk and Drake, his former teammate in Winnipeg and Phoenix, give the Blues an offensive identity and grit that has been lacking, especially since the retirement of Geoff Courtnall last year due to post-concussion syndrome.

One of the biggest changes Tkachuk will experience is his role with the Blues. Tkachuk was Phoenix's team captain. In St. Louis, the job belongs to Chris Pronger.

Though Tkachuk is a natural leader, he welcomes the change.

"It's going to be great," he said with a laugh. "Obviously, I still want to do the best I can in a leadership role, but it will be a lot less pressure. It was a little difficult here, although I loved it at the same time."

	"	Right now, it's my time to win and my time to go after the Stanley Cup. I really, really wanted to stay here and try to win a Cup. But I'm going to a better situation. "
		-- Keith Tkachuk

Tkachuk also welcomes another change his move to St. Louis brings -- the end of trade rumors, at least for the foreseeable future.

"Actually this year, (the rumors) made me better," he said. "I put it adside, and I felt like I was playing some of my best hockey. But last year, I definitely faced a little more adversity, first with the rumors and then I got hurt a lot."

After scoring 22 goals in just 50 games last season -- his lowest total since 1994-95 -- Tkachuk has rebounded with 29 tallies and 71 points. He has the chance to average better than a point per game for the first time since 1996-97.

Tkachuk has bounced back, and now he has an opportunity to do a few things he's never done: Win a playoff round and a Stanley Cup.

"Right now, it's my time to win and my time to go after the Stanley Cup," he said. "I really, really wanted to stay here and try to win a Cup. But I'm going to a better situation."

Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com. He can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com.