The St. Louis Blues gave up certainty to look toward the future in net for next season. It is an important year for all involved to show what they can and will be.
2020-21 is going to be an interesting year for the St. Louis Blues, no matter what. Of course, we have the big question as to when the season will take place and how long it will be.
Originally, the NHL was hard line about having a full, 82-game season no matter when the year began. That doesn’t seem quite as certain.
Regardless of that, the Blues are just as concerned with how their new goaltending tandem comes together. It’s going to be a big year for the duo of Jordan Binnington and Ville Husso.
The team will be relying on both to pick up big wins in a division that seems to only get harder. Even as certain rivals fall off, others rise up in their place, so goaltending will be key.
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The Blues have to be able to tell what kind of players both Binnington and Husso will be going forward. If they do not believe they can count on one or the other, they have to know they can, or should, head in a different direction after 2020-21.
The Blues don’t really have the luxury of time with these two. Binnington’s contract is up after 2020-21.
Husso has an extra year on his deal, which gives them a little more freedom, but not completely. St. Louis needs to have a decent idea of whether Husso is working toward being a starter or just a backup.
When his contract ends, he will be an unrestricted free agent, despite lack of time in the league. So, by the time this season ends, you need to have a clue whether his extension would be starter money or backup (or just to let him walk).
It’s also a big prove-it year for both guys individually.
Binnington has to show that 2019-20 was just a blip. He put up decent regular season numbers, but nothing compared to his unbelievable rookie season. Additionally, his 2020 playoffs were exceptionally bad.
We need to see the cool, calm, composed Binnington back in the crease if he is to get another extension. Fans can claim his Stanley Cup winner status all they want, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are likely to have moved on from two Stanley Cup winning goaltenders in short order by the start of the 2020-21 season. Sports are a what have you done for me lately business.
Husso, as mentioned, needs to give the Blues an indication of what his future holds. He doesn’t have to have a Binnington-like season where he steals the net and shuts down the league.
Husso does need to play well enough to earn an NHL spot, whether that be full-time or not. There has been a lot of talk of him being the goaltender of the future, but he’s got to show it.
We’ve seen player after player be the outfielder of the future or the pitcher of the future for the St. Louis Cardinals, but most have shown that their talent evaluators aren’t all that great. The Blues have a slightly better track record, but being wrong at goaltender can be disastrous if you hand them the reigns before you know for sure.
That’s what the Blues need. They need to know for sure on both of these guys.
You don’t want Binnington to have a so-so season and leave it up to Doug Armstrong to decide whether to keep him based on a gut feeling. You don’t want Husso to flip-flop between good game and bad game, not letting you know whether he’s capable of taking over in the odd chance that Binnington flames out.
Going into the season, goaltending should not be a big question for this team. There’s too much potential talent there.
The Blues have to know the talent is real, not just potential and not just one good season. It’ll be a put up or shut up type of season for both Binnington and Husso.