After so much controversy and uncertainity with the goaltending decisions made by the General Manager of Team Canada, Doug Armstrong, he might have fooled everyone. Stick a defense in front of Jordan Binnington and watch him flourish.
In the 5-0 opening game win for Team Canada, Binnington portrayed a stoic and easy-going 26-save shutout against Czechia. This was a solid showing from No. 50, as he has been painfully awful to watch this season for the St. Louis Blues.
it is still early yet, but the Blues might have benefitted greatly from this first win for Binnington and Canada. Did it save the franchise-leader in wins future with the Blue Note?
Armstrong made the right choice?
There was so much fear in picking Binnington as one of the potential goaltenders for Team Canada for this year's Olympics. It was almost like Armstrong showed a little bit of favoritism, although there were some valid stats to back it up, with picking Binnington. He went with the hot-hand from the last tournament-style, best-on-best games in last season's Four Nations Face-off. Binnington was Canada's difference-maker in those games and a key reason why they took home the Championship.
For now, it seems like Armstrong was right after the first game against Czechia. Czechia was no pushover, but not amongst the top-tier teams of the competition like the USA or Sweden. Once Canada plays against those squads, that will be the real tell for Binnington.
Changed the Blues future?
Prior to this showing in the Olympics, there was a very good chance that Binnington would not make it past the Trade Deadline on March 6 as a Blue. Joel Hofer has started to come into his own, and the time to move on might have come a lot sooner than expected.
But now, it is clear that maybe the weakness is not in Binnington, but in the defensive unit in front of him. This was an obvious one, as there is no chance that the Blues could replicate that kind of defense as Team Canada, with Devon Toews and Cale Makar as your top-pair, but a change needs to be made. Philip Broberg is starting to come into his own, playing up to par with a star-studded blue line with Team Sweden, but he cannot be the only saving grace for the Blues.
Binnington still has what it takes, but it also might still be too early to tell. Either way, Armstrong has to be taking note of this and now his decision comes March 6 just got a lot harder.