St. Louis Blues: Chad Johnson Era Was Short And Unsuccessful

The St. Louis Blues have rarely missed with backup goalies over the past handful of years, but Chad Johnson did not perform well enough to stick around with St. Louis.

The St. Louis Blues placed backup goalie Chad Johnson on waivers on Monday after appearing in only ten games to start the season.

The Blues have rarely missed on signing backup goalies. Names like Carter Hutton and Brian Elliot have come into St. Louis and have performed exceptionally well and have gone to become starters in other cities.

It wasn’t only that the Blues placed Johnson on waivers, but the player they called up to replace him raised my eyebrow. Jordan Binnington was called up after the game on Sunday in anticipation that Johnson would be placed on waivers.

More from Editorials

• St. Louis Blues Need Kasperi Kapanen To Be On Best Behavior
• Hayes’ Debut And Other Bold Predictions for the St. Louis Blues
• St. Louis Blues Captaincy Is Suddenly A Huge Problem For 2023-24
• St. Louis Blues National Games Cause More Problems Than They’re Worth
• St. Louis Blues Brayden Schenn Has To Be An Impact Player In 2023-24

Binnington was the best goalie that the Blues had in their system. Ville Husso is not ready, and he has struggled mightily so far this season in the AHL.

So naturally, Binnington was the obvious choice to take over the backup spot, even if temporarily.

So far in San Antonio, Binnington has posted an 8-4 record with a .914 SV% and has allowed 2.23 GAA.

The Blues will likely not use Binnington unless Jake Allen goes down with an injury, or his game drops off significantly. St. Louis does not have a back-to-back on their schedule until January 7 and 8 in Philadelphia and St. Louis.

Because of this long stretch between back-to-back, paired with the fact that Allen has played so well lately for the Blues, it is unlikely that Binnington gets a start for the foreseeable future.

Johnson’s tenure in St. Louis was not great by any stretch. In his ten games with the Blues, he had a 2-6 record and allowed three goals or more in seven games. Now, a lot of those games were blowouts and it can not all be pinned on the goaltender.

In Johnson’s last five games with the Blues, he allowed 22 goals, now I am no math expert, but this is not good at all. Johnson is not the only Blue that needs to get the hammer, but those numbers are unacceptable.

This move may spark another further down in the future. It is difficult to project a trade involving another goalie that isn’t Allen. With his recent play, however, it may be easier to obtain a better package for the Blues number one goalie.

I would have to imagine that we won’t see Binnington start a game anytime soon for St. Louis. With how well Allen is playing, it would take an injury for the 25-year-old to get a start for the big club.