St Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues announced Tuesday night that they fired Craig Berube after parts of six seasons as the team's head coach.

General manager Doug Armstrong added that Drew Bannister, who is the head coach of the Blues' AHL affiliate in the Springfield Thunderbirds, will serve as St. Louis' interim head coach.

Berube, who led the Blues to their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history in 2019, had St. Louis off to a 13-14-1 start this season placing it sixth out of eight teams in the Western Conference's Central Division.

The decision to fire Berube came after a 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, which marked the Blues' fourth consecutive defeat.

Berube went 75-58-28 in two seasons as the Philadelphia Flyers' head coach from 2013 to 2015, but his next head coaching opportunity didn't come until the 2018-19 season when he replaced Mike Yeo 19 games into the campaign.

After taking over, Berube went 38-19-6 and led the Blues on a deep playoff run, culminating in their first-ever Stanley Cup win.

Berube took the Blues back to the playoffs in each of the next three seasons as well, but they were unable to get past the second round.

Last season marked the first time the Blues missed the playoffs under Berube, finishing 37-38-7, and they were on pace to miss the playoffs this season also before Berube's dismissal.

Overall, Berube went 206-132-44 in 382 regular-season games as the Blues' head coach, and 24-27 in 51 playoff games.

Prior to his coaching days, the 57-year-old Berube spent 16 seasons in the NHL as a forward. His replacement, Bannister, is also a former NHL player, playing six years in the league as a defenseman.

The 49-year-old Bannister is 93-58-19 as an AHL head coach, leading the Thunderbirds to back-to-back playoff appearances, including a trip to the Calder Cup Final in 2022.

The St. Louis Blues are the NHL's latest team to decide not to wear their pride jerseys during warmups ahead of their matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, according to The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford.

A source inside the organization told Rutherford that the decision was made in order to focus more on the positive things that the Blues are doing to support the LGBTQIA+ community.

The team did wear the pride warmups last season in a game against the Seattle Kraken on April 6, 2022.

In a press release addressing their plans for pride night, St. Louis said there will be pride-themed warmup pucks and rainbow stick tape available ahead of the game.

Some proceeds from the game are set to go to Pride St. Louis and the You Can Play Project, which helps LGBTQIA+ athletes, coaches and fans.

This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.

For more from Bleacher Report on this topic and from around the sports world, check out our B/R app, homepage and social feeds—including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington has been suspended two games for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct on Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman, the NHL department of player safety announced Thursday.

Binnington was ejected from Wednesday's game against the Wild after leaving his crease and punching Hartman in the face with his blocker after the Minnesota forward scored in the second period to give his team a 5-4 lead.

The league said:

"What causes this play to rise to the level of a suspension is the act of a goaltender using his blocker in this manner, the retaliatory nature of the blow, the location and force with which it lands, and the game circumstances under which it occurred.

"Recklessly entering an opponent's goal celebration long after the play has ended for the purposes of seeking retribution will not be tolerated."

"I mean, those blockers aren't soft," Hartman told reporters of the altercation. "We don't have much protection on our face. I'd say so (it was a cheap shot). It's nothing new from him. He's been doing stuff like this for a while."

After Binnington punched Hartman, Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury skated the length of the rink in an attempt to fight his counterpart. Both players removed their masks and gloves in preparation for a fight, but referees separated the two before things escalated.

"I'm not surprised. I've seen Jordan do a few things in his career. That's why I went," Fleury said of his decision. "I made it pretty quick."

Binnington said after the game that he was surprised referees assessed him a match penalty for the incident.

"A little bit. I don't think I caught him too clean with my going after him," he said. "Like I said, he's pretty good at diving. That's his game and that's totally fine. If they don't want to stay in there and compete until that end, that's fine, but that's it, that's the ref's decision and that's fine."

While Binnington has no prior suspension history, the 29-year-old has a history of on-ice antics.

In an October 2021 matchup against the Colorado Avalanche, Binnington left his crease and attacked members of the opposing team behind his own net before swinging his stick at the head of then-Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri.

Earlier this season during a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Binnington tried to hit Jordan Staal as he was playing the puck behind the net. Staal ended up drilling Binnington to the ice.

Binnington hasn't been nearly as good since helping the Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019. Through 52 games this season, he owns a 22-24-5 record, 3.39 goals-against average and .892 save percentage.

The Ontario native's numbers have gotten worse in each season since the 2018-19 campaign, which is unfortunate for St. Louis as he's under contract at $6 million per year through the 2026-27 season. He also has a no-trade clause through 2023-24 and a modified no-trade clause from 2024-27.

The Blues sit sixth in the Central Division with a 29-33-5 record. Binnington will miss games against the Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets before being eligible to return Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings.

Thomas Greiss figures to start in goal during Binnington's absence. The franchise also has Joel Hofer available in its AHL affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired Ivan Barbashev from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for prospect Zach Dean.

Darren Dreger of TSN first reported the deal.

The 27-year-old has posted 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 59 games during the 2022-23 campaign.

While Barbashev hasn't matched last year's career season, when he scored 60 points in 81 games, he's a solid two-way option who should bolster the Golden Knight's third line. He can play on the wing or at center and is solid on both the power play and penalty-killing units.

Former NHL scout and current Sportsnet analyst Jason Bukala offered the following scouting report on the veteran:

The St. Louis Blues forward plays an energy game and has the ability to contribute more than secondary offense. He has the skill set to be used in all situations, and he can play the wing and the middle. Barbashev is the kind of player who can open up ice for his linemates with his tenacity. He scored 26 goals and 34 assists last season, which was a career high. I'm not sure he's a 60-plus point player, but he is better than (the totals) he's posted this year.

He had spent the entirety of his seven-year career with the Blues up until this point. With unrestricted free agency pending, and the Blues fairly well out of playoff contention at this point, a divorce seemed inevitable.

The Blues have undergone a fire sale, dealing Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola to the New York Rangers and Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Dean, 20, was selected with the No. 30 overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft and has posted 49 overall points (24 goals and 25 assists) with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Gatineau Olympiques.

While it seemed like the St. Louis Blues would be full sellers at the trade deadline after moving on from Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly this winter, it appears the franchise hasn't ruled out becoming a buyer.

The Blues inquired with the San Jose Sharks about a deal for Timo Meier, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. This comes amid rumors linking him to the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils.

The Blues traded Tarasenko to the New York Rangers on Feb. 9 in exchange for Sammy Blais, defense prospect Hunter Skinner, a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft.

The franchise followed that up by trading Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 17 in a three-team trade that also included the Minnesota Wild. St. Louis received Adam Gaudette, prospect Mikhail Abramov, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2023 third-round pick and a 2024 second-round pick in the deal.

The Blues now have three first-round picks in this year's draft. Seravalli believes the franchise will "leverage" those first-round picks to bring in Meier and sign him to a long-term extension to make him part of their core alongside Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas and Brayden Schenn.

Meier is in the final year of a four-year, $24 million contract he signed with the Shark in July 2019.

With San Jose well out of a playoff spot at 18-29-11 and headed for a rebuild, Meier is one of the team's biggest trade chips alongside two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson.

The 26-year-old has molded himself into a consistent 30-plus goal scorer. In 77 games last season, he tallied 35 goals and 41 assists for 76 points. Through 57 games this season, he's notched 31 goals and 21 assists for 52 points.

While Meier would certainly help St. Louis improve, the Blues currently sit well out of a playoff spot with a 26-27-3 record, so his acquisition would be more important for the future of the franchise.

While the Hurricanes and Devils are interested in Meier, the Blues might be better positioned to land the star forward as San Jose is asking for a first-round pick and a high-end prospect or a first-round pick and two Grade B prospects, per SJ Hockey Now's Sheng Peng.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a splash ahead of the March 3 trade deadline.

The team announced on Friday that it has acquired centres Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues as part of a three-team deal that also involved the Minnesota Wild:

O'Reilly is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and he counts for a $7.5 million cap hit this season. The 32-year-old's production has dipped significantly this year, making him expendable as St. Louis turns its eye toward building for the future.

Through 40 games this season, O'Reilly has 12 goals and seven assists. He still likely would've been considered one of the top available centres at the trade deadline.

O'Reilly was acquired by the Blues from the Buffalo Sabres prior to the 2018-19 season and immediately proved himself to be one of the best players in the league, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy and leading St. Louis to its first Stanley Cup in franchise history that year.

O'Reilly now joins a Maple Leafs team that ranks second in the Atlantic Division with a 33-14-8 record. Perhaps he will get back to producing at the level that earned him three career All-Star selections.

Friday's trade continues a firesale for the Blues, who also traded right winger Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Niko Mikkola to the New York Rangers last week. This deal coupled with the transaction with the Maple Leafs gives St. Louis three first-round picks in the 2023 NHL draft.