Report: Dillon Dube to sign deal with Blues’ AHL affiliate
The Springfield Thunderbirds, American Hockey League affiliate of the St. Louis Blues, are reportedly planning to sign forward Dillon Dube, per Frank Seravalli.
Hearing Dillon Dube plans to sign an AHL agreement with Springfield, affiliate of #stlblues. Dube was one of five Hockey Canada players acquitted of sexual assault charges in July from a 2018 incident in London, Ont. Dube, now 27, played last season in Minsk in KHL.
Dube is one of five players from Canada’s 2018 National Junior team who were charged with sexual assault stemming from an incident that took place in London, Ontario in June of 2018. The five players, which include Dube along with Carter Hart, Cal Foote, Michael McLeod, and Alex Formenton, were ultimately found not guilty by an Ontario judge in July of this year.
Dube would be the third of the five acquitted players to sign a contract in North America since they were made available to sign on October 15th following NHL-levied suspensions. Hart signed a two-year, $4 million deal with the Vegas Golden Knights on October 24th, and Foote signed a minor-league deal with the Chicago Wolves, AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes, on December 1st. Formenton currently plays in the Swiss National League, while McLeod plays in the KHL.
Selected 56th overall by the Calgary Flames in 2016, Dube played 325 games for Calgary spread over six seasons. He has provided bottom-six production over the course of his career, as his 82-game averages are 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points in just over 13 minutes of ice time. His best season came in 2022-23, when he played all 82 games and notched 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points.
The Golden, British Columbia native spent last season with the KHL’s Minsk Dynamo, where he managed just four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 42 games played.
The Blues’ ultimate plan with Dube remains to be seen. The team has struggled so far this year, as their 29 points in 30 games puts them second to last in the Central Division.