One of the few bright spots for the Blues this season has been the play of Joel Hofer. In 39 games this season, he has a .911 save percentage and a 2.52 goals against average. These are some of the best numbers of his career, and are much better than how Jordan Binnignton has performed. While Hofer has been good this year, he has seemingly gotten better in March. In eight starts, he has a .959 save percentage and a 1.33 goals against average.
With how well Hofer has played, and how he has made himself apart of the Blues long term future, many have called this season his breakout. The year where he put it all together and put himself on the hockey world's radar. While this may end up being the most important year of his career, and the one we look back on as the turning point this was not Hofer breakout. With how he has played throughout his career, a year like this was coming.
This is not a breakout for Joel Hofer, it's just him reaching his potential
Hofer has been solid over his five-year NHL career. In 108 career games, he has registered a .909 save percentage and a 2.64 goals against average. In every season with consistent playing time, he has never had a save percentage below .900 and has averaged more than 3 goals allowed per game. Throughout his time in the NHL, Hofer has not seen much struggle. He has always been able to put up good stats and strong performances.
His true breakout season came back in 2023-24. That was the first season where he was a true backup goalie and played in more than ten games. In 30 games that season, he had a .913 save percentage and a 2.65 goals against average. The Blues also found success when he started posting a record of 27-15-12. Sure, he's had more quality starts this season than 2023-24, but this was the season that made the hockey world realize he's a good goalie.
While 2025-26 may not be his breakout year, it could go down as the most important of his career. This was finally the season he made himself a better option in goal than Jordan Binnington. Much has been said about Binnington's struggles the past few years, and they all came to a head this season. He is currently set to put in the worst statistical performance of his career. It's clear he is no longer the elite goalie that carried the team to a Stanley Cup back in 2018-19.
With Hofer's strong play, it is now much easier for the Blues to trade Binnington during the summer and give the starting job to Hofer. With the Blues entering a rebuild, they need to focus on young players and developing the next core. Hofer can be the headlining piece of this next core and give fans hope that the rebuild is on the right track. With a talented goaltender, a team can steal wins and play above expectations.
Hofer performance this season means much more to the Blues future. It could be the first step in the Blues becoming a contender again.