The St. Louis Blues fired their head coach Craig Berube. The team confirmed the news on Tuesday night while revealing that Drew Bannister, coach of their AHL affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds, will take over from Berube on an interim basis.

The Blues are moving on from Berube, who brought the franchise its only Stanley Cup, following a skid that included six losses in the past eight games. The 57-year-old coach had two more years left on his contract.

Berube took over St. Louis Blues as an interim head coach after the team fired Mike Yeo following a 7–9–3 start to the 2018-19 season. Berube would go on to finish the season at 45-28-9 and lead the Blues to a remarkable run that saw them capture their first Stanley Cup.

Since then, St. Louis made three more playoff trips but didn’t progress further than the second round under Berube. The 2022-23 campaign was particularly disappointing, as the team missed the postseason and finished with less than 40 wins in a full season for the first time since 2010–11.

Bannister has served as the head coach of the Thunderbirds since 2020 and has made the AHL playoffs twice during his time in charge. The former NHL defenseman also coached the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and AHL’s San Antonio Rampage.

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Veteran forward Kasperi Kapanen didn’t have to wait long to find out his next NHL destination after being waived by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. The St. Louis Blues moved quickly to claim him, confirming the move on Saturday.

By claiming Kapanen, the Blues are taking over the remainder of the two-year, $6.4 million deal Kapanen signed with the Penguins during the offseason. The 26-year-old player has seven goals and 13 assists for a total of 20 points in 43 games this season.

The move makes sense for the Blues, who will benefit from Kapanen’s speed on ice for the remainder of the season. They will also be able to determine whether he fits into their long-term plans. 

“It’s a good pick up, he brings speed, has good skill,” said Blues’ head coach Craig Berube. “I’m looking forward to getting him here, coaching him, and having him be part of the team.”

Penguins surprisingly gave Kapanen a new deal in the summer despite his inconsistencies since arriving in a trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2020. The move didn’t work out, and Pittsburgh’s front office decided to admit their mistake sooner than later. By placing Kapanen on waivers, the team also managed to clear enough salary cap space to add veteran defenseman Jan Rutta to the roster from long-term injured reserve.

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The Las Vegas Golden Knights have agreed to a 7-year contract worth $8.8 million per year with star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.

Pietrangelo, who has been with the St. Louis Blues since being drafted by them fourth overall in the 2008 draft, was one of the prized free agents of the 2020 offseason.

The deal is worth a total of $61.6 million. Since Pietrangelo’s $8.8 million per year contract is going to eat up a lot of cap space, the Golden Knights had to make some moves to clear some money before signing him.

They traded defenseman Nate Schmidt to the Vancouver Canucks to free up $5.95 million and sent center Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets.

Expect the Golden Knights to make a few more money-saving moves this offseason, like getting rid of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Pietrangelo has been a captain in St. Louis since 2016 and was an integral piece on the roster that won the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup in 2019.

Despite being 30, he had a career-high 16 goals in the 2019-2020 season, adding 36 assists in just 70 games. The Blues were eliminated in the Western Conference quarterfinals by the Canucks.

Las Vegas lost to the Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars in five games in the Western Conference finals.

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The Montreal Canadiens announced that they have acquired goaltender Jake Allen from the St. Louis Blues.

According to Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin, they will be sending a third-round pick in 2020 and a seventh-round pick in 2020 to the Blues. In addition to Allen, the Canadiens will also get a seventh-round pick in 2022 from St. Louis.

The 30-year-old goalie is a seasoned veteran, spending his entire career thus far in St. Louis, where he was drafted in 2008. The Blues took him in the second round of the 2008 draft with the 34th overall pick.

He has a career record of 148-94-26, with a 2.50 GAA and a .915 career save percentage. In the 2019-2020 season, Allen played in 24 games, tallying 12 wins, six losses, and three ties with a 2.15 GAA and .927 save percentage.

While all of these picks might look like too much compensation for a 30-year-old goalie, it’s important to remember that all of the picks that the Canadiens are giving up were previously acquired from other teams in other trades.

They received the third-rounder for Ilya Kovalchuk from the Washington Capitals and the seventh-round pick for Andrew Shaw, who they sent to the Chicago Blackhawks.

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After an unlikely Stanley Cup win last season, St. Louis Blues plan to go all the way in 2019/20 as well. According to Blues’ head coach Craig Berube, his players can’t wait to get back to the ice after NHL resumes its season and are “hungry” to repeat as champions.

NHL recently confirmed that it’s terminating the regular season and will instead resume with a playoff consisting put of 24 teams. According to the league’s schedule, the Blues will return to training in the next few days and will begin playing competitive games in late July.

“They’re hungry,” said Berube in a recent chat with reporters. “They want to get back. We got the good motivation, I believe, coming back and playing and trying to repeat. Our guys are in a pretty good spot now.”

The Blues caught the league off guard last season, going from the last place in January to getting a playoff spot and winning the Stanley Cup. This year, however, the team had a much stronger regular season campaign and found itself at the top of Western Conference with 42-19-10 record. This should give them a significant advantage in the new playoff format.

However, Berube knows that there is always a chance for one team to come out of nowhere and win it all.

“It’s all an even playing field when we come back,” he added. “The team that wants to get out there and plays the hardest and plays at their pace is going to have the best chance.”

The Blues will start the playoffs as part of the Western Conference Seeding Round Robin, where they will play Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Dallas Stars. The exact schedule is still to be confirmed.

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After an agonizing seven-game series against the Boston Bruins, the St. Louis Blues lifted the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history on Wednesday night.

The Blues defeated the Bruins 4-1 to complete one of the most unlikely title-runs in professional sports history. St. Louis found itself in last place in the Western Conference in January, and made an incredible run to just qualify for the playoffs.

After charging through their Western Conference opponents in the playoffs, they capped off the feat with a seven-game thriller of a series against the powerhouse Bruins.

This Stanley Cup is the first in the history of the Blues franchise, which waited 52 seasons to claim its first championship.

The Blues, a team without any superstars, characteristically rode a strong team effort to their win on Wednesday night. Four Blues players, Ryan O’Reilly, Alex Pietrangelo, Zach Sanford, and Brayden Schenn scored in their Game 7 win.

The Stanley Cup is finally heading to Missouri after a 52-year wait, and the Blues are sure to have a celebration that they won’t soon forget.

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St. Louis Blues announced on Saturday that they had signed veteran defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to a contract extension. According to Blues’ general manager President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong, Bortuzzo received a three-year extension, worth $1.375 million per year.

This new deal will keep Bortuzzo in St. Louis through the 2021-22 season.

“I believe in what’s going on here, the people in place and the guys in this room,” – said Bortuzzo after inking the deal. “I’m very comfortable here, and I’m happy to get [the deal] done.”

Robert Bortuzzo was limited to only 12 games this season, dealing with the suspension at the start of the season and then being out with a lower back injury. He managed a goal and two assists so far.

Bortuzzo was drafted in the third round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although he made his NHL debut in 2011, he didn’t become a part of the team’s rotation until the next season.

After two solid seasons in Pittsburgh, Bortuzzo was traded to the Blues in exchange for fellow defenseman Ian Cole in March 2015.

During his time in NHL, Robert Bortuzzo played a total of 276 regular season games, contributing with 12 goals and 30 assists. He added two goals and two assists in 23 postseason appearances.

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The St. Louis Blues fired their head coach Craig Berube. The team confirmed the news on Tuesday night while revealing that Drew Bannister, coach of their AHL affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds, will take over from Berube on an interim basis.

The Blues are moving on from Berube, who brought the franchise its only Stanley Cup, following a skid that included six losses in the past eight games. The 57-year-old coach had two more years left on his contract.

Berube took over St. Louis Blues as an interim head coach after the team fired Mike Yeo following a 7–9–3 start to the 2018-19 season. Berube would go on to finish the season at 45-28-9 and lead the Blues to a remarkable run that saw them capture their first Stanley Cup.

Since then, St. Louis made three more playoff trips but didn’t progress further than the second round under Berube. The 2022-23 campaign was particularly disappointing, as the team missed the postseason and finished with less than 40 wins in a full season for the first time since 2010–11.

Bannister has served as the head coach of the Thunderbirds since 2020 and has made the AHL playoffs twice during his time in charge. The former NHL defenseman also coached the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and AHL’s San Antonio Rampage.

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Veteran forward Kasperi Kapanen didn’t have to wait long to find out his next NHL destination after being waived by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. The St. Louis Blues moved quickly to claim him, confirming the move on Saturday.

By claiming Kapanen, the Blues are taking over the remainder of the two-year, $6.4 million deal Kapanen signed with the Penguins during the offseason. The 26-year-old player has seven goals and 13 assists for a total of 20 points in 43 games this season.

The move makes sense for the Blues, who will benefit from Kapanen’s speed on ice for the remainder of the season. They will also be able to determine whether he fits into their long-term plans. 

“It’s a good pick up, he brings speed, has good skill,” said Blues’ head coach Craig Berube. “I’m looking forward to getting him here, coaching him, and having him be part of the team.”

Penguins surprisingly gave Kapanen a new deal in the summer despite his inconsistencies since arriving in a trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2020. The move didn’t work out, and Pittsburgh’s front office decided to admit their mistake sooner than later. By placing Kapanen on waivers, the team also managed to clear enough salary cap space to add veteran defenseman Jan Rutta to the roster from long-term injured reserve.

The post St. Louis Blues Pick Up Forward Kasperi Kapanen Off Waivers appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Las Vegas Golden Knights have agreed to a 7-year contract worth $8.8 million per year with star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.

Pietrangelo, who has been with the St. Louis Blues since being drafted by them fourth overall in the 2008 draft, was one of the prized free agents of the 2020 offseason.

The deal is worth a total of $61.6 million. Since Pietrangelo’s $8.8 million per year contract is going to eat up a lot of cap space, the Golden Knights had to make some moves to clear some money before signing him.

They traded defenseman Nate Schmidt to the Vancouver Canucks to free up $5.95 million and sent center Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets.

Expect the Golden Knights to make a few more money-saving moves this offseason, like getting rid of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Pietrangelo has been a captain in St. Louis since 2016 and was an integral piece on the roster that won the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup in 2019.

Despite being 30, he had a career-high 16 goals in the 2019-2020 season, adding 36 assists in just 70 games. The Blues were eliminated in the Western Conference quarterfinals by the Canucks.

Las Vegas lost to the Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars in five games in the Western Conference finals.

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The Montreal Canadiens announced that they have acquired goaltender Jake Allen from the St. Louis Blues.

According to Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin, they will be sending a third-round pick in 2020 and a seventh-round pick in 2020 to the Blues. In addition to Allen, the Canadiens will also get a seventh-round pick in 2022 from St. Louis.

The 30-year-old goalie is a seasoned veteran, spending his entire career thus far in St. Louis, where he was drafted in 2008. The Blues took him in the second round of the 2008 draft with the 34th overall pick.

He has a career record of 148-94-26, with a 2.50 GAA and a .915 career save percentage. In the 2019-2020 season, Allen played in 24 games, tallying 12 wins, six losses, and three ties with a 2.15 GAA and .927 save percentage.

While all of these picks might look like too much compensation for a 30-year-old goalie, it’s important to remember that all of the picks that the Canadiens are giving up were previously acquired from other teams in other trades.

They received the third-rounder for Ilya Kovalchuk from the Washington Capitals and the seventh-round pick for Andrew Shaw, who they sent to the Chicago Blackhawks.

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After an unlikely Stanley Cup win last season, St. Louis Blues plan to go all the way in 2019/20 as well. According to Blues’ head coach Craig Berube, his players can’t wait to get back to the ice after NHL resumes its season and are “hungry” to repeat as champions.

NHL recently confirmed that it’s terminating the regular season and will instead resume with a playoff consisting put of 24 teams. According to the league’s schedule, the Blues will return to training in the next few days and will begin playing competitive games in late July.

“They’re hungry,” said Berube in a recent chat with reporters. “They want to get back. We got the good motivation, I believe, coming back and playing and trying to repeat. Our guys are in a pretty good spot now.”

The Blues caught the league off guard last season, going from the last place in January to getting a playoff spot and winning the Stanley Cup. This year, however, the team had a much stronger regular season campaign and found itself at the top of Western Conference with 42-19-10 record. This should give them a significant advantage in the new playoff format.

However, Berube knows that there is always a chance for one team to come out of nowhere and win it all.

“It’s all an even playing field when we come back,” he added. “The team that wants to get out there and plays the hardest and plays at their pace is going to have the best chance.”

The Blues will start the playoffs as part of the Western Conference Seeding Round Robin, where they will play Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Dallas Stars. The exact schedule is still to be confirmed.

The post St. Louis Blues’ Players “Hungry” to Repeat Last Season’s Success appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After an agonizing seven-game series against the Boston Bruins, the St. Louis Blues lifted the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history on Wednesday night.

The Blues defeated the Bruins 4-1 to complete one of the most unlikely title-runs in professional sports history. St. Louis found itself in last place in the Western Conference in January, and made an incredible run to just qualify for the playoffs.

After charging through their Western Conference opponents in the playoffs, they capped off the feat with a seven-game thriller of a series against the powerhouse Bruins.

This Stanley Cup is the first in the history of the Blues franchise, which waited 52 seasons to claim its first championship.

The Blues, a team without any superstars, characteristically rode a strong team effort to their win on Wednesday night. Four Blues players, Ryan O’Reilly, Alex Pietrangelo, Zach Sanford, and Brayden Schenn scored in their Game 7 win.

The Stanley Cup is finally heading to Missouri after a 52-year wait, and the Blues are sure to have a celebration that they won’t soon forget.

The post St. Louis Blues Win Game 7, Claim First Stanley Cup in Franchise History appeared first on SportzBonanza.

St. Louis Blues announced on Saturday that they had signed veteran defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to a contract extension. According to Blues’ general manager President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong, Bortuzzo received a three-year extension, worth $1.375 million per year.

This new deal will keep Bortuzzo in St. Louis through the 2021-22 season.

“I believe in what’s going on here, the people in place and the guys in this room,” – said Bortuzzo after inking the deal. “I’m very comfortable here, and I’m happy to get [the deal] done.”

Robert Bortuzzo was limited to only 12 games this season, dealing with the suspension at the start of the season and then being out with a lower back injury. He managed a goal and two assists so far.

Bortuzzo was drafted in the third round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although he made his NHL debut in 2011, he didn’t become a part of the team’s rotation until the next season.

After two solid seasons in Pittsburgh, Bortuzzo was traded to the Blues in exchange for fellow defenseman Ian Cole in March 2015.

During his time in NHL, Robert Bortuzzo played a total of 276 regular season games, contributing with 12 goals and 30 assists. He added two goals and two assists in 23 postseason appearances.

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