The St. Louis Blues got back in the win column over the weekend with a resounding 5-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was a solid game for the whole team: the top-line players finally showed signs of life, Jake Neighbours got his first tally of the season, and Jordan Binnington marked his first win of the 2026-27 campaign. Good stuff all around!
Getting the win doesn't absolve Binnington of his poor play over the past season, though, nor was it a particularly promising victory. A win's a win, but the Blues got there despite Binnington, not because of him.
A lot of red flags
Last season was a nightmare for Binnington, and he's off to a tepid start in the final year of his contract with the Blues. Getting the first win of the season under his belt is a good step to better consistency, but allowing three goals and finishing with an .870 save percentage (SV%) isn't exactly promising. In two games, Binnington has an .847 SV%--the ninth worst mark in the league.
Save percentage isn't everything, of course, so let's turn to Money Puck's Goals Saved Above expected (GSAx). Binnington's minus-3.6 GSAx is seventh worst in the league; two of the goalies worse than him are on the Calgary Flames, and one is Kevin Lankinen of the Vancouver Canucks--both those teams are mired in long-term rebuilds and aiming for a top draft pick, not with eyes on the playoffs. If the Blues can't outscore Binnington's mistakes in net, they're in trouble.
None of this should come as a surprise. Last season, Binnington's minus-22.4 GSAx was the worst mark in the league. If Joel Hofer hadn't gone on a heater after the Winter Olympics, the team would have almost certainly finished with a top-five draft selection. The warning signs from last season have come along with Binnington into this one.
Where do things go from here?
If Binnington continues to have a sub-.900 SV%, the games he plays are likely losses--and a team with playoff aspirations can't run out a goalie that can't win games. The problem for the Blues, however, is that they don't have any other choice at the moment, as they don't have much goaltending depth in the AHL. A trade--either for a new goalie or to give Binnington a fresh start--might be the answer.
Trades involving goaltenders can be tricky, though. It's such a volatile position that it's difficult to predict if a goalie will succeed in a new environment or continue to struggle--look no further than the Tristan Jarry for Stuart Skinner swap last season. For the Blues, it may be "better the devil you know" in Binnington than giving up assets for someone else.
There's no clear solution to this issue: it's Hofer's net, but Binnington will need to play some games to pick up the slack. A trade could backfire and make the situation worse, but the Blues won't make the playoffs in a competitive Central Division if their backup netminder's sporting an .870 SV% in December. It's too soon to pull the trigger on a major shakeup, but the Blues may be forced to do something if Binnington's struggles don't improve.
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