St. Louis Blues Sign Jordan Binnington; Goaltending Picture Gains Clarity

The St. Louis Blues have re-signed goaltender Jordan Binnington. While not a surprise, it gives a bit more clarity to their jumbled up goaltending situation.

The St. Louis Blues have signed Jordan Binnington to a one-year, two-way contract. The move is not a very big surprise, as the team still has faith that Binnington can evolve into something more than he currently is. If nothing else, it gives them a solid base to form their AHL team.

The deal, in and of itself is a smart one. It’s only for a season. If Binnington fails to progress in his development, you cut ties and are none the worse for it. If he progresses and plays well with the Chicago Wolves, you can reward him with a two or three year deal if the situation warrants it and maybe even make the decision if he is capable of being Jake Allen’s backup by that time.

While time is still somewhat on Binnington’s side, as he is only 23 years old, it’s also getting short for him to make a significant move. Although he has been brought up to the NHL once or twice on an emergency basis, he only has one game under his belt and no starts in the big league.

Binnington was drafted by the Blues back in 2011 with the 88th overall pick in the third round. He was a bit underwhelming in terms of stats coming into his pro career, but he had won an OHL championship with the Owen Sound Attack.

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Since becoming a pro, he hasn’t been overly flashy, but he’s had very respectable numbers. In 40 games with the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL he had a 2.35 goals against and a .922 save percentage and then had a very nice 1.88 goals against in three playoff games in 2013-14.

The next two years he’s been with the Wolves in the AHL and has played 45 and 41 games respectively. He’s kept his goals against under 3.00 and save percentage above .900 in each year. The Wolves made the playoffs in his first season there but missed this last season.

His signing makes the Blues goaltending situation a little bit clearer. The final piece to fall into place, or not, will be Pheonix Copley. If the Blues bring him back, after being part of the trade that sent T.J. Oshie to the Washington Capitals, then we will know that Ville Husso is not likely to see any AHL action this year.

That is the biggest question mark left. Husso impressed at the Blues’ 2016 Prospect Camp, but there were still some rough edges. It will be up to the management team and the coaches to decide whether he is best served with a quick year in the ECHL to get acclimated to North America or to thrust him right into the AHL. We’ll know that by whether the team signs Copley.

Personally, I haven’t found Binnington to be that exciting of a prospect. He seems best suited for the minor leagues, but in all honesty we have not seen enough of him to fully make that judgement.

His stats are decent enough. He could have a career as an NHL backup. If he became a starter, I would be surprised, but it wouldn’t blow my mind into another dimension either. At this point he is just one of those tweeners that doesn’t seem destined to do much, but might have a breakout year.

In the end, this is a good signing for the depth of the club, but not much more. Whether it is this season or in the future, Husso seems to be the one who will have the best shot at legitimately challenging Allen for his spot. Binnington fills out the Blues franchise depth and hopefully the Wolves can make it back to the playoffs for everyone’s development sake.

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Barring any injuries though, it seems unlikely to see Binnington in the NHL this season. However, just when you think it’s safe, that’s when the bodies fall. Fingers crossed the Blues keep Binnington in the minors the entire season. Not for any reason against him, unless he’s just having a phenomenal year, but if he stays in the AHL the entire year it means health and prosperity for the Blues’ NHL goaltenders.

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