St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington remains a big-game goalie. While Binnington and Team Canada came up short in Sunday’s gold-medal game against Team USA, Binnington showed that he can be the guy when counted on.
Canadian fans will dissect Jack Hughes’ game-winning goal for weeks, if not months to come. But the bottom line is that such a high-stakes game was invariably going to come on a bounce that would end the game. That bounce fell to Jack Hughes and the United States.
Be that as it may, Binnington proved that he’s still got it when it matters most. And that’s something that the Blues can still cash in on. If the club is serious about moving Binnington, now’s the time to do it.
If Binnington returns to St. Louis and struggles, the finger will point to the team in front of him. Pundits can say that the 2019 Stanley Cup winner is rock solid with a good team around him. While that’s true, it’s not something that’s going to hold up forever.
The Blues must trade Binnington now if that’s the plan. There’s no point in holding on to the 32-year-old beyond this summer. Unless the Blues suddenly build an All-Star team, the focus should be on maximizing the return for Binnington.
Recency bias will drive up Blues’ asking price for Binnington
Recency bias should play a major role in driving up Binnington’s price tag. A team desperately looking for a top-flight goalie could be willing to pay a premium to land someone like the Olympic silver-medalist.
Even a team just kicking the tires on Binnington will find that the price has gone up. As for what that price may be, it’s reasonable to assume that first-round picks and top-end prospects would be involved.
Now, it’s tough to say that Binnington will go in the next couple of weeks. There doesn’t seem to be an appetite now for a massive goalie trade. But that could change once the season is over. Perhaps a draft-day blockbuster could see the Blues cashing in.
Moving forward, the best thing the Blues can expect is for Binnington to carry over his strong play into what’s left of the regular season. Even if the Blues just play out the string, there will be an opportunity to turn a sour season into a good one.
Otherwise, the Blues can just keep Binnington and hope that things will somehow change next season.