NEW YORK (Feb. 18, 2024) – St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for high-sticking Nashville Predators forward Luke Evangelista during NHL Game No. 855 in St. Louis on Saturday, Feb. 17, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 19:14 of the third period. Binnington was assessed a minor penalty for high-sticking.
Watch the butt-end below.
Kasperi Kapanen has been fined 108,700 euros (~$117,000 USD) for a drunk driving charge in Finland last August. https://t.co/AxH7gkOWQq
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 8, 2024
NEW YORK (Feb. 7, 2024) – The National Hockey League (NHL) today announced that the 2025 Discover NHL Winter Classic® will feature the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the St. Louis Blues, at Wrigley Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs. The game will be televised exclusively on TNT in the U.S. and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada. Additional details for the 2025 Discover NHL Winter Classic®, including ticketing information and the game’s date and start time, will be announced when available. Fans can sign up for news and updates on the 2025 Discover NHL Winter Classic here.
from Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
The Blues hope to avoid such a years-long downturn. As they build around Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Jake Neighbours, Scott Perunovich and Joel Hofer, reestablishing a more determined identity will be paramount.
The Blues lost it under coach Mike Yeo. They regained it under successor Craig Berube and made their improbable run to the Stanley Cup. But they lost it again last season, dooming Berube to his recent dismissal.
Now interim coach Drew Bannister is trying to restore it on the fly during this season. He has many proud veterans to help with the process, with some who have won big here (captain Brayden Schenn, Jordan Binnington, Colton Parayko, Oskar Sundqvist) and elsewhere (Brandon Saad, Nick Leddy, Torey Krug).
If the Blues can lay a strong foundation during the months ahead, they could build something substantial as more young talent arrives.
St. Louis Blues press release,
St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced tonight the team has relieved Craig Berube of his coaching duties and named Springfield Thunderbirds head coach Drew Bannister as interim head coach.
Bannister will travel to St. Louis on Wednesday and serve his first game behind the bench on Thursday when the Blues host the Ottawa Senators.
Bannister, 49, has spent the past three seasons with the Blues’ AHL affiliate in Springfield, leading the team to a 93-58-19 regular-season record. The Belleville, Ontario, native has also guided the Thunderbirds to consecutive playoff appearances, including 2021-22, when they won the Eastern Conference and reached the Calder Cup Final.
Bannister began his coaching career in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where he spent three seasons as an assistant with Owen Sound and three as head coach with the Soo Greyhounds. He also served as head coach of the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage and as an associate coach with the Utica Comets.
As a player, Bannister’s career spanned over 20 years and included 164 NHL regular-season games between the Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, and New York Rangers.
from Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic,
The Blues are looking at every avenue in terms of how to part ways with Vrana, including the possibility of a trade.
“He was informed this morning (that he was being placed on waivers), and I guess they changed their minds,” said J.P. Barry of CAA Hockey, Vrana’s agent, after Monday’s waiver wire was announced and the player’s name wasn’t on it. “They must have got phone calls between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (ET). I’m sure they just got into some discussions, or some follow-up discussions.”
The Blues practiced Monday at 11 a.m. CT at Centene Community Ice Center, but Vrana was not on the ice.
Afterward, coach Craig Berube told reporters that general manager “Doug (Armstrong) just said he’s not practicing today and if there’s any more questions, talk to Doug about that.”
Armstrong wasn’t immediately available for comment, per a team spokesman.
The situation between the Blues and Vrana was coming to a head at some point, and it became increasingly obvious that it would be soon. He had been a healthy scratch in four consecutive games, and when he returned to the lineup for back-to-back games at Columbus and Chicago last week, he had no points and was a combined minus-4 in a total of 22 minutes, 37 seconds of ice time.
For the season, Vrana has two goals and six points in 19 games. Overall, he’s been a healthy scratch in eight of the team’s 27 games.
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from Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
1. I’m sorry, but I disregard how fatigued or road-weary the Blues were as they entered their past two games. The performances in them were inexcusable.
There are four divisions in the National Hockey League — the Blues got last-place teams back-to-back. On Friday, St. Louis played in Columbus against team that lost 7-3 the night before. Well, that beleaguered Blue Jackets team jumped to a lead against the Blues less than two minutes in. By the third period, Columbus led 3-1 and then 4-1, finally earning the victory by a 5-2 score. And the next night at Chicago, the Blackhawks honestly could’ve had five goals in the first period. They did score two and picked apart their rival in the 3-1 win.
You can’t play two last-place teams and not get a point out of either game.
2. Imagine last year if I told you the Blues’ miserable power play of 2022-23 would still have more than double the percentage points of this year’s Blues power play? Sure enough, here we are. The 2022-23 Blues scored on 19.3% of power plays, while this year the Blues are at 8.8%, worst in the Western Conference.
This is outside the box, but what if the Blues reserved one spot on the power play for an X-factor player who has shown the most effort in recent games? Even if it’s a fourth-liner, reward the guy by putting him on the power play. You’d only be demoting one guy off your top power play — and maybe that hustle player could provide a spark. What else do you have to lose? And what’s the worst that happens — you still don’t score?
from Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic,
It’s part of what will be a 19-hour day for Berube, 57, and it comes at the end of a four-game, eight-day road trip that has already had stops in San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim. The night’s game is the third of the season against the Coyotes, and a win would allow the Blues to save face with a 2-2 road trip that began with a lump-inducing 5-1 loss to the Sharks.
Either way, though, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
The Blues are traveling back to St. Louis after the game, and when their chartered plane lands around 3 a.m., Berube will be reunited with his wife, Dominique, and his twin 15-year-olds, son Nashota and daughter Charlotte, for the holiday. They live in Philadelphia, where the children are in high school, and Berube hasn’t seen them since he left for training camp in September.
“It’s going to be good to just hang out for a couple days,” he says. “But today is today. I’m pretty good about separating those things. We’re right there, a couple points behind Winnipeg in the standings for the third spot. It’s a grind, so we just want to keep putting points on the board. That’s my focus: this game tonight.”
And from the early wakeup call Wednesday to the wee hours Thursday, he’ll keep that focus, even with an observer in tow. To give fans a better idea of what it’s like behind the scenes and off camera, Berube has agreed to let The Athletic shadow him from start to finish.
Here’s 19 hours in the life of an NHL coach on game day.
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from Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
But for 60 minutes in about 60 games, Binnington becomes the heel — lofting verbal barbs at opposing benches and physical ones at forwards in his crease, egging on a road crowd in Denver or Pittsburgh or Dallas and energizing a home one at Enterprise Center. He becomes a lightning rod for criticism and an irritant to fans around the league.
The tales are well-told by now.
The near fight with the Wild’s Marc-Andre Fleury. The two-game suspension for punching Ryan Hartman with his blocker. The collisions with Jason Zucker and Jordan Staal. The bump of Ilya Sorokin. The water bottle toss at Nazem Kadri. The exit after being pulled against the Sharks. The slash of Jamie Benn and Ben Bishop.
In the spring, Binnington hinted at potentially a different man returning to St. Louis in the fall. He was getting married in July. Four days later, he would turn 30 years old. Following his suspension in March, and within sight of the summer, he told the Post-Dispatch, “You might see a new JB coming at you.”
So as the Blues approach a new season, and Binnington begins his fifth full season as their starting goaltender, does he feel different after passing two of life’s checkpoints?
“I feel a little different,” Binnington said. “I feel calmer and more present, staying in the moment, I would say, whatever that’s from.”
from Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
During his summer of reflection, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong needed time to process last season’s team failure.
“It starts out as anger, then it goes to embarrassment and then you can’t wait for today because you don’t have to talk about it anymore,” Armstrong said shortly before the Blues opened their 2023-24 training camp.
Now Armstrong can begin judging his team’s response.
He did what he could to upgrade the roster, within the team’s contractual constraints. He gathered insights on communicating constructively with players in today’s environment and providing them proper support.
Now it’s up to those players to push the Blues back on track.
“It’s a partnership with the players, whether it’s off-ice training or on-ice training of skill development or nutrition, if we can give them the tools to be their best, we benefit,” Armstrong said. “They benefit, but we benefit.”
from Chris Pinkert of the Blues website,
In the St. Louis Blues’ 56-year history, only 23 players have been tasked with the incredible responsibility that comes with wearing the captain’s ‘C’ on the front of their sweater.
On Tuesday, Brayden Schenn became the 24th, joining a legendary list of players that includes names such as Red Berenson, Bob and Barclay Plager, Garry Unger, Brian Sutter, Bernie Federko, Brett Hull, Chris Pronger, Al MacInnis and Wayne Gretzky, to name a few.
“I don’t think it has set in yet, to be honest,” Schenn told stlouisblues.com. “The history of this franchise, the great captains they’ve had, and now getting your own name added to that extraordinary list, it’s a huge honor that I’m thankful for. I’m excited for the opportunity and the challenge this will bring.”
ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today that defenseman Torey Krug suffered a right-foot injury while training for the upcoming 2023-24 season.
Krug is scheduled to be re-evaluated on Oct. 1.
Krug, 32, is entering his fourth season as a Blue. Overall, the Livonia, Michigan, native has posted 444 points (85 goals, 359 assists) and a plus-31 rating in 701 career NHL regular-season games, including 107 points (18 goals, 89 assists) and a plus-8 rating in 178 regular-season games with the Blues.
from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News,
Armstrong has added pieces, clearly envisioning being back in the top four of the Central Division. Those added pieces include center Kevin Hayes, landed in a trade from Philadelphia, and anticipated full seasons from winger Kasperi Kapanen and Jakub Vrana, both of who performed well in their short stints for St. Louis at the end of 2022-23.
That said, the Blues, even after the changes, are a very old team – up front, Hayes and center Brayden Schenn are each 31 years old, and on defense, their top five blueliners (Nick Leddy, Torey Krug, Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko, and Marco Scandella) are all between the ages of 30 and 33....
As regular readers know, the “mushy middle” is the worst place for an NHL team to be. While we’re not here to tell you the Blues aren’t going to be good enough for the playoffs and too good to land a top-five draft pick, we are saying that’s a potential outcome of Armstrong’s team right now. St. Louis finished 14 points out of a playoff spot last year, but in a Central Division where we see Winnipeg and Nashville taking a competitive step backward, a top-four position is also a potential outcome for the roster the Blues have today.
St. Louis isn’t a pushover team. They’ve got too much pride to be one of those. The problems for them will come if there are more injuries, and/or if their best players aren’t at the top of their game. Binnington, in particular, needs a big rebound year. If he falters, the Blues may not have enough strength in other places to make up for it.
ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today the team has acquired forward Kevin Hayes from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
A very sad day for the Kelly family. I couldn’t have asked for a better broadcast partner these past 14 years. A true professional and an even better person. Good luck in Chicago my friend, but we will surely miss you in STL https://t.co/NI6qS4tjRD
— John Kelly (@Jkellyhockey) June 8, 2023
from Scott Powers and Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic,
Darren Pang is returning to where it all began for him in the NHL.
Pang is finalizing a contract to join the Chicago Blackhawks TV broadcast after 14 seasons with the St. Louis Blues, confirmed sources involved in the negotiations, who spoke under the condition of anonymity because the contract hadn’t been signed yet. Pang played his entire NHL career with the Blackhawks.
Pang’s contract with Bally Sports Midwest was expiring this offseason, and the Blackhawks were granted permission last month to speak with him. Terms of Pang’s new deal with Chicago were not immediately known. He will also continue his work as a national analyst with TNT.
Pang, 59, had planned to remain with the Blues and Bally’s next season, but contract talks had been slow. The parent company of Bally’s, Diamond Sports Group, is a division of Sinclair Broadcasting and is currently in bankruptcy.
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E60: Little Choices
via the YouTube page of the NHL on ESPN,
Before he was a Stanley Cup Champion and Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Toronto Maple Leaf forward Ryan O’Reilly was just another kid from the tiny Canadian town of Seaforth, Ontario. The man who ran the local rink in Seaforth, Graham Nesbitt, used to open the arena early on school days to let Ryan practice for free before class. It was a selfless act of kindness that fueled the passion of a young hockey player. Two decades later, Nesbitt fell ill with kidney disease and required a transplant.
Watch below.
from Lou Korac at The Hockey News,
Sure, the talk will be the overtime game-winner Jakub Vrana scored when the Blues nearly coughing up a three-goal lead before recovering for a 6-5 overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday at Enterprise Center.
It was a beauty of a goal, one in which he pulled off a give-and-go with Brayden Schenn before beating Thatcher Demko from in tight for his second goal of the game, ninth of the season and eighth in 12 games since being acquired by the Blues from the Detroit Red Wings on March 3.
But the goal that really stood out was Vrana's first goal, one that gave the Blues -- at the time -- a 3-2 lead at 7:24 of the second period, a one-timer from the high slot off a pass from Brandon Saad.
What it exemplifies is that the Blues may have found their shooter, their first pure shooter since trading Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers on Feb. 9.
Marc-Andre Fleury was mic’d up while trying to fight Jordan Binnington last night and it's GOLD 😂🔊
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 16, 2023
📽️: @mnwildpic.twitter.com/jA8zZHH4w0
NEW YORK (March 16, 2023) – St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington has been suspended for two games, without pay, for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct against Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman during NHL Game No. 1078 in St. Louis on Wednesday, March 15, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 12:25 of the second period. Binnington was assessed a match penalty.
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Binnington will forfeit $64,864.86. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Watch the video explanation below. You will have to accept the NHL cookies.
via Sportsnet's YouTube page,
Jordan Binnington goes after Ryan Hartman after a goal, and Marc-Andre Fleury skates down the ice and drops the gloves, but the fight was not allowed by the linesmen.
“Things were not going well in Detroit,” Vrana said. “So I got a call (Friday morning) that I’m coming here, and I was really happy about that. I look at it as a new opportunity. And so far I’ve been here, everybody’s great. All the guys have been really nice to me, and I’m looking forward to going to the games and battle with them and do some things.”...
“To be honest with you, I came back (from the player assistance program) and conditioning-wise I was ready,” Vrana said. “I did some testing – I had better numbers than in the training camp.
“I was ready to play. Unfortunately, I’m just a player and I don’t make the decisions who’s gonna play, who’s not. So the decision was to send me down, put me on waivers. I accepted. There was no other way, right?”...
“I can’t tell you I was happy about it,” he said. “I accepted because it’s just how it is. Sometimes you’re gonna accept things even though you don’t like them. But yeah, I didn’t agree with how it went.”
Jim Thomas of the St. Lous Post-Dispatch has more on Vrana.
Trade: Vegas has acquired Ivan Barbashev from the Blues for a prospect.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 26, 2023
from Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic,
If you call Enterprise Center on Friday looking to buy an Alexey Toropchenko No. 13 Blues jersey, they might be on backorder.
It is extremely rare in the NHL for young players to speak their minds, especially a 23-year-old fourth-round draft pick with just 73 games in the league before Thursday’s game against Vancouver.
The Russian speaks impressively good English, and he did not mince words after the Blues coughed up a 2-0 lead in the final 11 minutes of regulation and fell 3-2 in overtime. The Canucks got a short-handed goal, pulled their goalie and tied the score with 29 seconds left, then won on Elias Pettersson’s OT shot.
But it wasn’t the fact the Blues, who have already begun their fire sale, lost the game. It was the lackadaisical effort by the team’s top players, which everyone in the crowd of 18,096 could see well before the final-period collapse....
“Even if we’re not in the playoff spot, I will do everything because it’s a hockey game,” Toropchenko said. “You can’t (disappear), especially when you’re playing in the NHL. You’re not playing somewhere else, on the beer league or something like that. You need to show something. You need to show heart and character and be strong everywhere. Just play from your heart. Not good.”...
The trio of Schenn, Thomas and Kyrou has a combined one point in the past four games, and that was an assist by Kyrou in last week’s 4-1 loss to Colorado. In their four-game losing streak, the Blues have been outscored 18-6, and here’s the breakdown of five-on-five goals for/against that those three have been on the ice for: Schenn (2-4), Thomas (0-6) and Kyrou (1-6).
“Not good enough,” Berube said. “Not even close.”
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Below, watch as Sportsnet's Hockey Central discusses this...
from the Toronto Maple Leafs,
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that the hockey club has acquired forwards Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari in a three-team trade with the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild.
St. Louis will receive forwards Mikhail Abramov and Adam Gaudette, Toronto's first round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, Ottawa's third round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft and Toronto's second round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft while Minnesota receives Toronto's fourth round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft.
St. Louis will retain 50% and Minnesota will retain 25% of O'Reilly's salary as part of the trade.
O'Reilly, 32, has collected 19 points (12 goals, seven assists) in 40 games with the Blues this season. In 978 career regular season NHL games with the Blues, Buffalo Sabres and Colorado Avalanche, the Clinton, Ontario native has recorded 691 points (252 goals, 439 assists) while adding 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists) in 64 career Stanley Cup playoff games. In 2019, O'Reilly was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy after leading the Blues to a Stanley Cup championship.