The St. Louis Blues took the interim tag off of Drew Bannister's title, naming him their new head coach.

Bannister, 50, signed a two-year contract, according to Blues president of hockey operations and general manager Doug Armstrong. He becomes the 27th head coach in franchise history.

St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee, the team announced Wednesday.

Sundqvist was injured after being checked into the boards by Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb during the second period of Monday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Golden Knights. Sundqvist needed help from his teammates to get off the ice and did not return to the game.

Sundqvist will undergo surgery and be re-evaluated in six months, the team said Wednesday.

St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong has been named the GM for the 2026 Canadian men's Olympic hockey team, Hockey Canada announced Friday.

He was also named the management group lead for the Canadian national men's team for the next two years.

Armstrong, 59, has been the Blues' general manager since 2010, winning the Stanley Cup in 2019. 

The Chicago Blackhawks will host the 2025 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field, a league source confirmed Tuesday.

Their opponents will be the St. Louis Blues.

The NHL previously held the second Winter Classic at Wrigley Field in 2009, featuring the Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. This marks the second time in three seasons that the NHL is revisiting a venue for the Classic, having held an outdoor game at Fenway Park in 2010 and 2023.

After his own fans booed him Thursday night in St. Louis, Blues star Jordan Kyrou apologized during an emotional postgame interview for comments he made about former coach Craig Berube.

Kyrou, 25, was booed when his name was announced in the starting lineup for the Blues' game against the Ottawa Senators. There were occasional boos when he touched the puck during the game as well.

"I definitely heard those," Kyrou said. "That's not easy, obviously, but I see where they're coming from. It's definitely tough. I love playing here. I love playing for these fans."

The struggling St. Louis Blues fired coach Craig Berube on Tuesday night.

Drew Bannister, coach of the Springfield Thunderbirds, St. Louis' AHL affiliate, was named the team's interim coach by president of hockey operations Doug Armstrong. Bannister will travel to St. Louis on Wednesday and serve his first game behind the bench on Thursday when the Blues host the Ottawa Senators.

The New York Islanders acquired Robert Bortuzzo in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on Friday that gives the Eastern Conference playoff contenders some much-needed size and depth on the blue line amid injuries.

The Islanders sent a seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft to the Blues for the veteran defenseman, who has only gotten into four games this season while mostly sitting out as a healthy scratch.

Connor Bedard played in his first preseason game with the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night, and fans of the Original Six franchise were ready.

So was Bedard, who had two assists in Chicago's 2-1 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues.

"I felt pretty good and comfortable and stuff, but I think I could do a lot better," Bedard said. "I don't know if there was a surprise. Obviously less room, but that's nothing I didn't expect, so just kind of get used to it here."

Blues defenseman Torey Krug injured his right foot while training for the coming NHL season, general manager Doug Armstrong announced Tuesday.

The Blues did not reveal how long they expect the 32-year-old to be sidelined, other than to say Krug is expected to be reevaluated Oct. 1.

St. Louis Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko avoided arbitration by signing a two-year, $2.5 million contract Sunday.

Toropchenko, 24, was in line for an arbitration hearing Thursday.