Ugly fallout from Dillon Dube signing becomes third major Blues controversy!

On Tuesday, insider Frank Seravalli reported that former NHL forward Dillon Dube is expected to sign an AHL contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds, the St. Louis Blues’ affiliate. 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.

On Wednesday morning, the Blues confirmed and announced the signing.

While Dube would be eligible for an eventual NHL return, the expectation is that he’ll need to re-establish himself at the AHL level before the Blues consider a full NHL contract. So far, the only reinstated player to sign an NHL deal has been Hart with the Vegas Golden Knights. Foote signed an AHL contract with the Hurricanes’ affiliate earlier this month.

The response from Blues and Thunderbirds fans, however, has been swift and overwhelmingly negative. Under Seravalli’s report online, hundreds of comments criticized the organization for pursuing Dube at all.

“What is wrong with these teams? Don’t they have any integrity? Morality?” one fan asked.

“I’m utterly ashamed and disgusted by this move,” wrote another.

This isn’t the first time an NHL organization has felt the heat for adding one of the reinstated players. Vegas faced similar criticism when it signed Hart, and Carolina when it picked up Foote. But the backlash toward St. Louis appears even fiercer. Part of that stems from the Blues’ recent pattern of controversial personnel decisions.

This summer, the team traded Zach Bolduc for defenseman Logan Mailloux, who had been convicted in 2020 in Sweden for distributing a non-consensual intimate photo of a woman. Earlier this fall, the Blues also explored giving veteran Milan Lucic a path back to the NHL following his arrest in 2023 related to a domestic incident with his wife.

For many fans, Dube’s signing feels like the latest chapter in a troubling trend: one that prioritizes on-ice value over organizational values.