Things haven't been so bad for the St. Louis Blues of late. They're 5-4-1 in their last 10 games, and coming off a decisive, blowout victory over the reigning champions, the Florida Panthers. Jonatan Berggren, claimed off waivers, has fit in well, and an infusion of youth from prospects Otto Stenberg and Dalibor Dvorsky been a small bright spot.
We can't forget where the Blues are, though: fifth place in a stacked Central Division, with a mediocre 14-15-8 record. The team's core is aging and in decline, and the youth movement is still a few years away from fully overtaking the roster. Simply put, the Blues are stuck in the mushy middle while they wait for poor contracts to come off the books and prospects to mature into everyday NHL players.
It's time to sell what you can, and no player on the roster is more valuable than netminder Jordan Binnington, though the GM Doug Armstrong has said no player is untouchable.
There's no two ways about it: Binnington has been awfult his year. He has an .873 save percentage, 3.41 Goals Against Average (GAA), and a league-worst -8.7 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. Worse, he's losing more starts to the up-and-coming Joel Hofer.
Still, Binnington has a championship pedigree, winning the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019. He was lights out in the Four Nations final last year, and still seems likely to be one of the three goalies that Canada takes to the Olympics. Contending teams around the league always need a good goalie to help them go on the run and, while Binnington has struggled, he has the resume to earn some level of trust. Having a year left on his contract could be appealing, too, as he wouldn't be a true rental.
Judging the return for a goaltender can be tricky, though; it's such a volatile position that the market can swing wildly. With Binnington's pedigree, it's believable he'd net a sizable return--a premium draft pick or prospect, perhaps--but it'll be a hard sell unless he picks up his play. Of the Blues players that could be dangled in a trade, Binnington may be the most valuable.