The opening day of NHL free agency brought a flurry of signings and trades, but one deal that carried significance beyond the ice was the St. Louis Blues quietly inking forward Dillon Dube to a contract on Wednesday. The move marks another chapter in the ongoing story of players returning to professional hockey after being acquitted in the high-profile Hockey Canada sexual assault case tied to the 2018 World Junior Championships.
Dube agreed to a one-year, one-way deal worth $850,000, meaning he will earn that salary regardless of whether he plays in the NHL or the American Hockey League next season. The 27-year-old becomes the second of the five acquitted players to secure an NHL contract, following goaltender Carter Hart , who signed with the Vegas Golden Knights last October and went on to help them reach the Stanley Cup Final.
The path back for Dube was anything but straightforward. After his tenure with the Calgary Flames ended in January 2024 when charges were laid, he spent the 2024-25 campaign playing for Dinamo Minsk in the Russia-based KHL, where he managed four goals and 11 points across 42 regular-season appearances. He then accepted a professional tryout with the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Blues' top AHL affiliate, in December. That audition went well. In 46 regular-season games with Springfield, Dube tallied 20 goals and 37 points, then contributed five goals and eight points in 12 playoff contests.
Blues general manager Alexander Steen explained that the organization used those months in Springfield to evaluate Dube both as a player and a person. Steen noted that the club spoke with coaches and teammates about the forward's conduct and character during his time in the minors. He described Dube as someone who approaches his opportunity with genuine sincerity and humility, and emphasized that St. Louis has long viewed itself as a place willing to give people a fresh start.
"This has always been a second-chance organization, and this is Dillon's opportunity, and we feel confident giving it to him to fight for a spot on our team next year," Steen said.
All five players involved in the case were found not guilty of sexual assault by an Ontario Superior Court judge in July 2025. Michael McLeod was also cleared of an additional count of being a party to the offense. The NHL formally reinstated Hart, Dube, McLeod, Cal Foote , and Alex Formenton in September, permitting them to return to action starting December 1.
Since then, their careers have taken divergent paths. Hart's return was the most prominent, as he backstopped the Golden Knights through the playoffs before they fell to Carolina in six games in the Stanley Cup Final. McLeod opted to stay overseas, signing a three-year deal to continue playing in the KHL. Foote spent the past season on an AHL contract with the Chicago Wolves, while Formenton played in Switzerland.
Dube, originally a second-round pick of the Flames in 2016, had established himself as a capable NHL contributor before the charges disrupted his career. He posted back-to-back 18-goal seasons in Calgary and set personal bests with 18 goals and 45 points in 82 games during the 2022-23 campaign. Over 325 career NHL games, all with the Flames, he accumulated 57 goals and 127 points.
Now approaching his 28th birthday on July 20, the Golden, British Columbia, native will head into training camp looking to earn a roster spot with a Blues team that appears willing to give him a legitimate chance. Whether Dube can recapture the form that once made him a productive middle-six forward remains to be seen, but his strong showing in the AHL suggests the talent is still there.
