On New Year's Eve, there were rolling out all of the Olympic teams for each country competing in Milan. Team Canada General Manager, and St. Louis Blues General Manager, Doug Armstrong announced the roster, and it showcased two members of the Blues squad who were also on the Four Nations roster last season.
Goaltender Jordan Binnington and defenseman Colton Parayko will be making the trip in February to Italy, to represent their home country. Fans are not exactly thrilled with those two decisions, with the focus being on the goaltending decision.
Binnington has a chance to do what he did last season at the Four Nations Faceoff, by shocking the world and proving his clutch gene is still active. But, this is a different circumstance than last year, and that should scare fans of Team Canada.
Furthermore, the Blues' all-time winningest goaltender's performance in his last game against Colorado might have shocked the whole country. This is going to be very interesting.
Binnington can't even start for his own team
Right now, the goaltending tandem of Binnington and Joel Hofer is no longer a starter/backup situation. It is a rotation of using the best available netminder. How is Binnington expected to start for Team Canada when he can't even hold down his spot with the Blues?
Now, having Cale Makar and Drew Doughty as the defenseman in front of you is a lot different than what is in front of him now. That could be a big different-maker, but it also might not be. There is a chance that the continuous letdowns from Binnington might have broken No. 50's spirit a bit.
Goaltending might not be as cut and dry as Four Nations
There is also a good chance that Binnington will not even be the starter for the Olympics. Logan Thompson from Washington and Darcy Kuemper from the Los Angeles Kings will also be fighting for the spot. It will be very interesting to see who gets the nod.
Binnington is going to have to fight for his spot, and that competition might be a plus for the Blues. If memory serves, the Blues used the momentum gained from the Team Canada Four Nations Championship goaltender to spark a 12-game winning streak to send themselves into the playoffs.
Can history repeat itself, and can Binnington use the remaining month and change to win over the hearts of his country's supporters? As of now, Canadian followers have to be feeling a bit of fear with their current first-string goaltender in the best-on-best tournament.