Tag: St. Louis Blues

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Pat Maroon has words for Ryan O’Reilly

St. Louis Call Newspapers

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are set to renew their postseason rivalry with their second straight first round matchup that officially begins tonight. And among the former teammates that will be facing one another include Lightning forward Pat Maroon and Leafs forward Ryan O’Reilly, both of whom were key figures on the 2019 Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. 

Maroon would score the game winning goal in double overtime of Game 7 against the Dallas Stars for St. Louis, while O’Reilly would go on to earn the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. They’re both good friends, but that’s gonna have to be put to the side for the next few weeks.

But that doesn’t mean that Maroon will feel any differently about O’Reilly regardless of how the series turns out.

“It’s going to be weird,” said Maroon. “I just wish the best for him no matter what. We won together. He’s honestly my best friend. I’m just so happy for him. He gets an opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup again … I’m not happy the Leafs got him, but happy he gets an opportunity to play in his hometown.” 

Meanwhile, it’s former Lightning defenseman Luke Schenn who is now back on the Leafs, and he’s not talking to any of his former Lightning teammates – at least not for now.

“I’m not talking to them now,” he confirmed. “Phone has been shut off that way.”

The series gets underway from downtown Toronto later tonight.

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St. Louis Blues fire multiple coaches

STL Today

It was an up and down season for the St. Louis Blues, who made the difficult decisions to move on from franchise cornerstones Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko, both of whom played key roles in bringing the Gateway City their first ever Stanley Cup championship in 2019. 

They officially missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011, and not surprisingly, they’re already making personnel changes. Minutes ago, it was announced by the team that their coaching staff for next season will be looking very different, as assistant coaches Mike Van Ryan as well as Craig MacTavish were given their walking papers. 

Right now, it appears as though head coach Craig Berube and assistant Steve Ott are safe for the time being. The same holds true for Goaltending Coach David Alexander, Video Coach Darryl Seward and Video Coordinator Elliott Mondou.

Van Ryn, who played for the Blues over the course of his NHL career, had been an assistant for the last five seasons and helped the team to the Stanley Cup in 2019. Meanwhile, MacTavish was coming off his first year behind the bench as an assistant with the Blues. After an extensive playing career that included several Stanley Cup wins with the Edmonton Oilers, MacTavish served as their head coach and later a team executive. 

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Ryan Hartman gets the last laugh on Jordan Binnington.

The St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild have developed quite the personal rivalry this season, with that rivalry being centered around Minnesota Wild veteran forward Ryan Hartman and St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington.

It wouldn’t be an understatement to suggest that there is some bad blood between the two men, especially after the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety suspended Binnington just last month for striking Hartman in the face with his blocker.

On Saturday night it would be Hartman’s turn to exact a measure of revenge on his rival, and he did so in spectacular fashion when he got the chance to mock Binnington after scoring a shorthanded goal on the Blues goaltender.

Hartman would create a turnover in the neutral zone which in turn cause Binnington to come charging out of his net in the hopes of stopping Hartman with a poke check. The crafty Wild veteran got to the puck first though and managed to avoid the contact from Binnington, giving him a clear path to the net. Hartman would not only bury the shorthanded goal as Binnington was forced to watch on, but he even wagged his finger in disapproval at the Blues goaltender after doing so.

To add insult to injury, Hartman would create another turnover in the neutral zone moments later which also resulted in another goal from the Wild.

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Blues have special message for Vladimir Tarasenko

NHL.com

The Vladimir Tarasenko era with the St. Louis Blues that included the franchise’s first Stanley Cup victory officially came to an end in February. He was traded to the New York Rangers as part of a blockbuster deal that saw Sammy Blais, Hunter Skinner, a conditional 2023 first-round pick and a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick sent back to St. Louis. Additionally, the Blues retained 50% of Tarasenko’s cap hit. 

It wasn’t long after the trade that Tarasenko, who requested a trade last season but later rescinded the request, said that there was “no chance” of his staying with St. Louis. 

“There was no chance I was staying in St. Louis,” he said. “No deal was offered, so I knew I was going to be moved somewhere. I talked with Artemi (Panarin) and they want me here. I want to be here, too.” 

Last night marked Tarasenko’s return to St. Louis for the first time since the trade went down. And not surprisingly, the Blues had a special video tribute prepared for him during a break in play the 1st period.

And afterward, the former Blues forward certainly was appreciative of the love that he was shown by the fans who cheered for him for 11 years. 

“This was a very emotional moment for me,” he said .”Thank you very much to the whole community. I don’t talk very much since the trade, but all the support they give us through those 11 years was unreal. I always loved the fans. So it was very, very emotional for us.”

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Blues cancel plans to wear Pride jerseys tomorrow

Zuma Press

Yet another team has elected to NOT wear Pride themed warmups jerseys for LGBTQ+ celebrations in the NHL.

St. Louis Blues insider Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports today that the Blues will not wear special Pride themed uniforms for tomorrow night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, as had been planned earlier.

From Rutherford:

Blues players will not wear Pride jerseys during warmups before the team’s Pride night game against the Flyers on Tuesday, a team source told The Athletic on Monday. Here’s what you need to know:

The Blues announced their plans for Pride night, which included a list of promotions, but notably omitted whether the team will be wearing Pride jerseys during the pregame warmups. The team said there will be Pride-themed warmup pucks and rainbow stick tape available for players.

The source said the decision not to wear the warmup jerseys was made to put the focus on the positive things the team is doing to support and affirm the LGBTQIA+ community.

St. Louis previously wore Pride jerseys during warmups on April 6, 2022.

– Jeremy Rutherford

In a statement, Blues president and CEO of business operations Chris Zimmerman said they “believe in creating a welcoming and inclusive environment that encourages all fans to participate in our great sport.”

“With our Pride Night, alongside our partners from Pride STL and You Can Play Project, we are recognizing our friends in the LGBTQIA+ community and advocating for inclusivity in support of the NHL’s Hockey is for Everyone initiative,” he added. “As an organization, we are committed to celebrating and welcoming all individuals as valued members of the Blues family — regardless of how they identify or whom they love.”

A number of NHL players and/or teams have elected not to wear Pride warmup jerseys this season, either for religious or political reasons. Of course, Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov sort of kick started these ‘silent protests’ but the New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild all soon followed. A number of Russian-born players have also opted out of Pride celebrations over concerns that they will face criminal charges in Russia for endorsing what the Russian government calls “non-normal lifestyles.”