ST. LOUIS — The Blues made official Tuesday what everyone had expected the moment Craig Berube led St. Louis to a remarkable turnaround capped by the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

They stripped the interim tag from his title and signed him to three-year contract.

Berube had been the interim coach since taking over for Mike Yeo on Nov. 19, but GM Doug Armstrong acknowledged during the playoffs an extension was a foregone conclusion. And that was before the Blues beat the Boston Bruins in seven games to hoist the Stanley Cup.

“Craig made an enormous impact on our team when he took over last November,” Armstrong said in a statement. “He restored our identity and provided our players with a clear sense of direction.”

The Blues were in last place at the start of the year, but Berube led them on an 11-game win streak in January and February to position them for the playoffs. They wound up going 38-19-6 in the regular season, then beat the Jets, Stars and Sharks in the playoffs to reach the Stanley Cup finals.

In a dramatic, bruising series, the Blues emerged to win the first title in their 52-year history, helping to give a city still smarting from the loss of the St. Louis Rams a reason to celebrate.

BRUINS: The Bruins signed defenseman Steven Kampfer to a two-year contract extension that will pay him $800,000 per season.

Kampfer, 30, was acquired from the New York Rangers last September, bringing him back to the team he made his NHL debut with in 2010. He played 38 games with Boston as a rookie, scoring a career-high five goals with five assists for the team that won the Stanley Cup.

Kampfer played 10 games with Boston the next season before he was traded to the Minnesota Wild at the deadline.

HALL OF FAME: Canadian women’s star Hayley Wickenheiser was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility.

Wickenheiser headlines the 2019 class that includes former NHL players Sergei Zubov and Guy Carbonneau, Czech hockey star Vaclav Nedomansky and builders Jim Rutherford and Jerry York.

BROOKS ORPIK called it a career after 15 bruising NHL seasons in which he established himself as a big-hitting, shutdown defenseman and won the Stanley Cup twice.

The 38-year-old played 1,171 regular-season and playoff games for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. He won the Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009 and Washington in 2018.

DEVILS: The Devils introduced No. 1 overall pick Jack Hughes to New Jersey – even though he is already sharing the spotlight.

The Devils have given notice they might be re-emerging as a contender with an encouraging draft and the stunning acquisition of six-time All-Star defenseman P.K. Subban. It has all gone a long way in turning pessimism into optimism for a team that finished with the league’s third-worst record and out of the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years.

“Adding a talent like Jack Hughes on Friday night and Saturday, P.K. Subban, obviously I think the Devils are back in business,” GM Ray Shero said.

LIGHTNING: The Tampa Bay Lightning signed 2019 first-round draft pick Nolan Foote to a three-year entry level contract.

The Lightning took the 18-year old forward from Kelowna of the Western Hockey League 27th overall. He is the younger brother of the Lightning’s 2017 first-round pick Cal Foote and the son of former NHL defenseman Adam Foote.

WILD: The Minnesota Wild extended qualifying offers to seven players eligible to become restricted free agents, including forwards Ryan Donato, Joel Eriksson Ek and Kevin Fiala to retain the rights to three key pieces of their young core.

TRADE: The Arizona Coyotes acquired forward Carl Soderberg from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenseman Kevin Connauton.

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