Dillon Dube, acquitted member of 2018 World Junior team, set to make his NHL return

According to a report from NHL insider Frank Seravalli, former NHLer Dillon Dube is set to sign an AHL contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds, AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues.

It's believed that if/when Dube can establish himself at the AHL level then the Blues will sign him to an NHL deal. Dube is now eligible to return to the NHL, after commissioner Gary Bettman officially reinstated him, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton on December 1st. To date though, the only exonerated member of Canada's disgraced 2018 World Junior to sign an NHL contract has been Hart. Foote recently signed an AHL deal with the Carolina Hurricanes' AHL affiliate, however.

Dube last playyed in the NHL during the 2023-24 season with the Calgary Flames and was not tendered a contract offer after news of the Hockey Canada scandal hit the greater hockey world. While awaiting trial, he spent the 2024-25 season overseas, signing with Belarus’ Dinamo Minsk in the Kontinental Hockey League. The 5’11” winger struggled to make an impact, slipping to a fourth-line role by year’s end and notching just four goals and 11 points in 42 games. He ended the season without a point in his final 11 regular-season and playoff games.