Only playing one more season in junior after his draft year, Juraj Pekarcik has signed his entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues according to a team announcement. Believing he could play professionally last year, the Blues organization thought it was best for Pekarcik’s development to have the young forward play junior hockey for one year in North America.  According to CapFriendly, the deal carries European Assignment Clause, a cap hit of $870K, and an AAV of $950K. In his draft year, Pekarcik played in 30 games for HK Nitra of the Tipos Extraliga, tallying only three assists in ..read more

11:49 a.m.: Kaskimäki’s deal carries a cap hit of $870K, PuckPedia reports. It will be paid out via a base salary of $775K, a signing bonus of $95K, a potential games played bonus of $80K, and a minors salary of $82.5K each season. The Blues announced Tuesday that they’ve signed forward Aleksanteri Kaskimäki to a three-year entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. Kaskimäki, 20, was the 73rd overall selection in the 2022 draft by St. Louis and has spent the two years since developing in his native Finland. All of the 6-foot, 192-lb center’s professional experience has com ..read more

The offseason has arrived for all but a handful of teams who are still taking part in the playoffs.  Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at St. Louis. The St. Louis Blues entered a new era this season, firing Stanley Cup-winning head coach Craig Berube and replacing him with rookie head coach Drew Bannister, who the team has since signed to a two-year head coach contract. The move away from Berube has meant a move away from the rough-and-tugged, dump-and-chase style of hockey that Berube adores. That was g ..read more

A pair of young NHL players were traded recently in the KHL. CSKA announced that they traded the rights to Blues prospect Mikhail Abramov in exchange for Flames blueliner Nikita Okhotyuk.  Abramov picked up 14 goals and 22 assists in 59 games with AHL Springfield this season and has yet to play at the NHL level.  Okhotyuk, meanwhile, spent most of the season in San Jose before being acquired late in the season by Calgary; he notched nine points, 80 blocks, and 147 hits in 52 NHL games.  Both players are set to become restricted free agents in July ..read more

The AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds have named Steve Konowalchuk as their head coach. Konowalchuk becomes the fourth head coach in Springfield’s seven-year history, taking the torch from interim coach Daniel Tkaczuk, who took over for Drew Bannister following his promotion to the St. Louis Blues in December. Tkaczuk led the Thunderbirds to a 18-29-3 record, following Bannister’s 12-8-0 start. The Thunderbirds haven’t yet provided details on which assistant coaches Konowalchuk will retain. Konowalchuk is best known for his years as a player, becoming a staple of the Washington Capitals lineup be ..read more

Still with Toronto, the Maple Leafs named Craig Berube as their new head coach yesterday, signing him to a four-year contract. Berube, of course, last worked in St. Louis and it appears that Berube won’t be the only one joining Toronto from the Blues.  James Mirtle of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Berube will be bringing some of the staff from St. Louis with him.  Steve Ott, Mike Weber, David Alexander, and Michael Babcock are the current assistants on Drew Bannister’s staff.  As it is, Berube will be reunited with one of his former assistants as Mike Van Ryn was on ..read more

The Blues have signed forward Hugh McGing to a two-year, two-way contract extension, general manager Doug Armstrong announced Wednesday. He’ll earn $775K at the NHL level and $250K at the AHL level each season, per the team. McGing, 25, spent most of last season on assignment to AHL Springfield. He led the Blues’ primary minor-league affiliate with 31 assists, adding eight goals for 39 points in 51 games with 40 PIMs and a +5 rating. In doing so, he matched his career-high points total set last season despite playing 20 fewer games. His 0.76 points per game were his highest since recording a p ..read more

The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery has finally rolled around, giving solace to the 16 teams that missed out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks lead the odds race, with the Sharks boasting a hardy 18.5 percent chance of winning the first-overall pick. The list of runner-ups is rounded out by fringe playoff contenders in the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings, who share 0.5 percent odds at the top slot. The 2024 NHL Draft is certainly one to be excited for. It features strong talent throughout the first round, including hotly-debated talents like Finnish standout ..read more

The New Jersey Devils plan to solidify a new head coach within the next 7-to-10 days, per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun (Twitter link). New Jersey just lost interim head coach Travis Green to a four-year contract with the Ottawa Senators, leaving their commanding spot vacant for the first time since firing Lindy Ruff in March. Green led the Devils to a 38-39-5 record, in his two months behind the helm, performing well enough to earn his first full-time head coaching role since leaving the Vancouver Canucks in the 2021-22 season. Ruff has also found a new home, returning to the Buffalo Sabres, w ..read more

The Blues have removed the interim tag from head coach Drew Bannister, signing him to a two-year extension Tuesday to make him the 27th permanent bench boss in franchise history. The deal keeps Bannister in St. Louis through the 2025-26 season and brings the number of coaching vacancies down to six, a number that’s expected to drop further this week with the Senators close to hiring Travis Green. Bannister, 50, guided the Blues to a strong 30-19-5 record after they dismissed 2019 Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube on Dec. 12. After the team started 13-14-1 under Berube, Bannister ..read more