Jean-François Bérubé

Playing career

As a youth, Bérubé participated in the 2004 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from the Mille-Îles area of Laval, Quebec. He played major junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Montreal Junior Hockey Club before turning professional. On May 24, 2011, the Los Angeles Kings signed him to a three-year, entry-level contract, and he served as the starting goaltender for their AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs. On October 6, 2015, the Kings waived him after Jhonas Enroth was chosen as the team's backup. The New York Islanders claimed Bérubé off waivers that same day, and he made his NHL debut on October 10, 2015, against the Chicago Blackhawks, stopping 30 of 34 shots in a 4–1 loss. He began the 2016–17 season with the Islanders behind Jaroslav Halák and Thomas Greiss; after the Islanders waived Halák in December 2016, Bérubé became the full-time backup, but he posted only 3 wins in 14 games before Halák was recalled. As an impending group VI free agent, Bérubé was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft on June 21, 2017, a selection based on a trade in which the Islanders sent a first-round pick in 2017, a second-round pick in 2019, prospect Jake Bischoff, and the contract of long-term injured player Mikhail Grabovski. On July 1, 2017, he signed a two-year free agent contract with the Chicago Blackhawks worth $1.5 million total. He started the season in the AHL with the Rockford Ice Hogs, posting a 7–8 record with a 2.37 GAA. Recalled to Chicago on February 15, 2018, he made his Blackhawks debut on February 23 in a 3–1 win over the San Jose Sharks, finishing the season with a 3–6–1 record in 10 starts, a 3.78 GAA, and a .894 save percentage. On June 27, 2018, the Blackhawks traded Bérubé to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Jordan Schroeder.