St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington said he fully intended to give Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin his 900th goal puck back after hiding it down his pants during Wednesday night’s game.

“Yeah, I figured I basically had an assist on the goal there, turning the puck over. [I] didn’t think he’d mind sharing it,” Binnington joked after the Blues’ practice Thursday ahead of their game at the Buffalo Sabres. “I had full intention to give it back to him.”

Ovechkin, already the NHL’s leading career goal scorer, became the first player to score 900 goals with a second-period tally against Binnington.

As the Capitals celebrated with their captain, Binnington collected the puck from the crease, used his bare hand to pluck it from his goalie glove and slid it down the back of his pants as he skated toward the boards, in full view of television cameras.

Later, linesperson Michel Cormier was seen having a discussion with Binnington in his crease, after which the Blues goalie reached back into his pants and handed the puck to the official. Ovechkin posed for photos with the milestone puck in the Capitals’ locker room after the game.

Binnington gave up four goals on 15 shots against Washington and was pulled at 9:28 of the second period. He said he was impressed by the way Ovechkin scored No. 900, forcing a Binnington turnover and then eventually backhanding the puck into the net.

“Incredible play by him to catch that, spin around and get that on net from a bad angle. Obviously, he’s such a legendary player. Seeing a play like that still happening at his age, it’s next level. He continues to impress,” Binnington said.

Ovechkin said he was aware that Binnington put the puck in his pants Wednesday night.

“Yeah, I just saw it. I’m not going to comment,” he said.

After the game, Capitals goalie Logan Thompson said he was willing to give Binnington the benefit of the doubt.

“I was just so happy that O got it. I don’t know, maybe he was trying to grab it to give it to him. Who knows?” said Thompson, who made 23 saves in the win.

According to Binnington, Thompson was correct in his assessment.

“Full intention to give it back,” said Binnington, who backstopped Team Canada to gold in the 4 Nations Face-Off last season. “He’s a legendary, inspirational player for the game and for the league. It’s a good moment for him and their team.”

Georgia Tech‘s Brent Key has seen his name mentioned for several vacant coaching jobs, but Thursday he shot down any rumors he’d be departing his alma mater in emphatic fashion.

“Slice me open and see what colors I bleed,” Key said at a Georgia Tech news conference in response to a question about other coaching jobs.

Key is a 2000 graduate of Georgia Tech, where he was an All-ACC offensive lineman. He returned to the school in 2019 to serve on Geoff Collins’ staff. When Collins was fired midway through the 2022 season, Key was elevated to interim head coach, then landed the full time job after a strong finish to the year.

Key is 26-17 overall since taking over at Georgia Tech, though he’s won seven games over ranked ACC opponents and has led the Yellow Jackets to an 8-1 record so far this season.

Georgia Tech had been ranked as high as seventh in the AP poll but checked in at No. 17 in the first College Football Playoff rankings after a stunning Week 10 loss to NC State.

Key said his work at Georgia Tech is about building a long-term infrastructure that means the program where losses like last week’s don’t impact the narrative of a regular playoff contender.

“Other than when I’m with my family, every waking second of my life has gone toward building this program to get to the point that it is right now,” Key said, “So we can continue, three years from now, five years from now, 10 years from now, to continue to elevate this place. Not to be in there two or three weeks. Not when you lose one game for people to say the storybook’s over. Nah. It’s just beginning.”

Key served as an assistant under Nick Saban at Alabama from 2016 to 2018, and his name had been mentioned in connection to several SEC vacancies, including at Florida and Auburn.

Georgia Tech has an open date this week before finishing the regular season with a trip to Boston College and home dates with Pitt and rival Georgia.

When the San Diego Padres began their search for what would become their fifth full-time manager in eight years, Craig Stammen, then a member of their front office, was among those interviewing candidates, asking questions on video conferences, sources familiar with the process told ESPN.

In the end, Stammen got the job himself.

Stammen, a highly regarded former reliever who pitched as recently as three years ago, was announced as the Padres’ new manager on Thursday, shocking people throughout the industry who were unaware he was even considered a candidate.

Stammen, who signed a three-year deal, will succeed Mike Shildt, who announced shortly after the season that he would retire.

The Padres’ front office — led by chairman John Seidler, chief executive officer Erik Greupner and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller — initially made a list of roughly 50 potential candidates to replace Shildt, a source familiar with the process said.

Roughly 10 of them sat in on video conferences that constituted the initial interview phase, and Stammen, who holds the title of special assistant to the major league staff and baseball operations, was among a group of close to 20 Padres representatives asking questions of candidates.

The Padres have long held Stammen in high regard and saw him as a potential candidate, but at that time, a source said, Stammen himself was uncertain if he would take part. Later, after the initial phase, Stammen opted in and removed himself as an interviewer.

Texas Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla and future Hall of Fame first baseman Albert Pujols were also considered finalists in the search, though others could have been involved too. In the end, though, it went to Stammen, who is now the only former pitcher to serve as a current manager in Major League Baseball.

“Craig has been a strong presence in our organization for nearly a decade,” Preller wrote in a statement. “He possesses deep organizational knowledge and brings natural leadership qualities to the manager’s chair. As both a player and in his post-playing career, Craig has displayed an ability to elevate those around him. His strength of character, competitive nature and talent for bringing people together make him the ideal choice to lead the Padres.”

Stammen spent 13 seasons in the majors, mostly as a relief pitcher. The past six, from 2017 to 2022, were spent with the Padres, where he was lauded for his leadership qualities and seen by many as a glue guy in their clubhouse. He made 333 appearances, which rank fifth in team history.

Stammen announced he would retire in August of 2023, in the wake of a spring training shoulder injury, and was subsequently hired to the front office for a role in which he alternated helping at the major league level and assisting in player development.

He will now serve as the sixth full-time manager under Preller, following Bud Black, Andy Green, Jayce Tingler, Bob Melvin and Shildt. The Padres are still seeking the first World Series championship in franchise history and have made the playoffs three of the past four years. Last month, after winning 90 games and finishing second in the National League West, they were eliminated by the Chicago Cubs in the decisive Game 3 of the wild-card round.

Niebla still has two years remaining on his contract and the expectation is that he will return at least as pitching coach. He and the Padres have discussed a more expansive role, in addition to working with the pitchers, sources told ESPN, but that has not been agreed upon yet.

The Padres are expected to seek starting pitching and at least one impact bat this offseason, but Stammen will inherit a core group of players who should make them instant contenders again, headlined by Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta and Mason Miller.

The Stammen news comes in the wake of several unconventional manager hires that have taken place this offseason. College coach Tony Vitello was hired by the San Francisco Giants; 33-year-old Blake Butera landed with the Washington Nationals; and another rookie manager (Kurt Suzuki) got only a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

The Colorado Rockies are the only remaining team without a permanent manager.