As Canada narrowly defeated Czechia in an Olympic classic, 4-3, it was St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington who was a key part. With some big saves in the final minutes of the third period, and the overtime session, he made up for a shaky start by advancing his squad into the semifinals.
Once this best-on-best tournament comes to a conclusion on Sunday, there is a lot of questions for the Blues final sprint of the season. With 25 games remaining, and six until the trade deadline on March 6, General Manager Doug Armstrong is going to be a busy, busy man.
One player he is going to eventually have to answer for is Binnington. Where does he fit in with the future of the Blues? Is it time to move on, and what kind of return can they get for him? If he is traded, is Hofer “primed” enough to take over as the first-string?
Let’s go over what kind of value Binnington has and what a trade for him would look like.
Olympics are improving trade value
If you were to divide his 2025-26 season in two parts, one with the Blues and one for Team Canada, they are both vastly different. Obviously, he doesn’t have a top defensive pairing of Cale Makar and Devon Toews in St. Louis, or Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini blistering the competition up front.
But there is something to be said about these Olympics. Binnington has proven that with a defense in front of him, he is still a stable and reliable goaltender. That has been evident in all three of his wins, as well as the sample size from the Four Nations Face-off last season.
His record with the Blues this year shine a negative light on him. By no means has he been expunged from the horrific record, but when this team is averaging the fifth-lowest goals per game at 2.56, it is very hard to keep your team in the game.
Binnington has been the heart and soul of this Blues team since his arrival in 2018-19. But, it might be time to let him go for the best possible return. If they can grab a first-round selection and a reputable prospect that is on their way to being an everyday NHLer, it is worth it.