It is pretty evident that with the looming contract expiration of Jordan Binnington, the St. Louis Blues have a tough decision to make by the end of this current season. No. 50 certainly did not do himself any favors when he allowed six goals against a red-hot Colorado Avalanche team in his lone start.
All summer, the idea was if Binnington was not moved before the season began, that he would be traded before the trade deadline in March. Now, there may be a golden opportunity for that to be accelerated to this week, after an "Original Six" team just lost their franchise goaltender.
Can the New York Rangers emerge as the best possible suitor as they just lost Igor Shesterkin, who has yet to be confirmed out for a lengthy period of time? Let's talk about it.
Binnington to NYR
If Shesterkin is out long-term, which, after this injury, it looks like it will be, then Binnington becomes the best goalie available. There are some names in the Rangers organization that could fill the spot, but with how hot they have been to start the season at 4-2-0, and everything about their offense and defense clicking with the new acquisitions, they need a sturdy goaltender now.
Igor Shesterkin went down with a leg injury and had to be carried off the ice without putting weight on his right leg
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 10, 2026
Hope he's okay 🙏 pic.twitter.com/uDg7SAZ3c8
Binnington's contract could be an issue, as the Rangers only have 378,561 to play with. But, Shesterkin's injury kind of frees them up, as being placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve would open up that $11+ million AAV deal. No. 50's current deal, worth an AAV of $6 million, would slide right in there.
The return is another big question, as Blues general manager Alexander Steen and Rangers general manager Chris Drury are not going to just speedrun this due to timing. Each is going to be stingier than the other to boil this potential deal down to the penny. The Rangers have some draft capital, solid prospects in their farm system, and some NHLers they could offload depending on the length of time that Shesterkin is out for.
Who replaces Binner?
The next question becomes, who replaces Binnington in the Blues' rotation, behind Hofer? Georgii Romanov is the easy answer, as he is "the guy" down in Springfield. That would be a quick and easy transition, but a tough pill to swallow when looking at how new and fresh all of this is.
Hofer was just given the keys to the starting role four games ago, and now, his long-time mentor and winningest goaltender in Blues franchise history may get moved to the Rangers in a blockbuster. With all of the previous moving parts, this is a complete monkey wrench into the season's initial plans.
But, this is also the best opportunity to offload Binnington at the highest price. He did not look great against Colorado, but the Rangers are desperate to stick a winning goaltender in net right now. Steen has to strike while the iron is hot, call up Romanov, and enjoy the idea of moving Hofer into a full-time starting position.
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