On Tuesday night against the Calgary Flames, Jordan Binnington became the new franchise leader in career games with the Blues for a goaltender, playing in his 348th game with the team. The 32-year-old surpassed Mike Liut, whose 347 games for the Blues between 1980 and 1985 held the old record.
Binnington stopped 38 of 40 shots, posting a .950 save percentage as the Blues continued to improve amidst a sluggish first month of the season, where they currently stand at seventh in the Central Division with a 6-8-3 record and a 3-5-2 record in their last 10 games. It's worth noting they're between both Nashville and Minnesota by one game, making things a real basement fight after one month of this season gone by.
Jordan Binnington has had a storied career with the St. Louis Blues
Binnington started his NHL career by coming in as a relief goaltender on January 14, 2016, in a 4-1 home loss to Carolina. It'd be the only NHL game he'd play until he got a full-time gig in the 2018-19 season, where he posted a 30-24-5 record en route to helping St Louis win its first and only Stanley Cup championship to date.
Binnington has now spent all nine years of his NHL career with the Blues and is in the second-to-last year of a six-year $36 million extension that started before the 2021-22 season. The native of Richmond Hill Ontario was selected by St Louis in the third round of the 2011 draft with the 88th overall pick.
And in his rookie season, where he helped them win the Cup as mentioned, Binnington posted a .927 save percentage and a 1.89 goals against average while also starting all 26 postseason games the Blues were in, as their Cup Finals series with Boston went the full distance of seven games.
In between the 2011-12 and 2015-16 seasons, as well as until the 2018-19 season where Binnington has become a mainstay, he played for several of the Blues' minor league affiliates, notably in the AHL with the now defunct Peoria Rivermen and the Chicago Wolves, who are the current AHL affiliate to the Carolina Hurricanes.
He also spent some time back in his native Ontario with the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL, the team he was originally drafted by the Blues from. Binnington hasn't made an NHL All Star Game in his career so far or won any major hardware, but he did come within the last few choices for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the NHL's best goaltender after stellar campaigns in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
He also earned one All Star Game nomination in the 2023-24 season, helping St Louis make a triumphant return to the Stanley Cup playoffs after a three-year drought.
Binnington is also the Blues' all time wins leader by a goaltender, and he also surpassed Liut, breaking the franchise record last November after earning his 152nd career win. He now has 177 career wins between the pipes, easily keeping him at the top of the Blues' all time list.
Binnington has solidified his spot as one of the Blues' greatest goalies
Despite his stellar play, Binnington has also had plenty of off-nights this season. The Blues' near franchise record seven-game losing streak wasn't snapped too long ago, and then there comes the past where Binnington used to be one of the league's more immature goalies, with several high profile temper tantrums.
But Binnington can also be considered one of the franchise's greatest goalies, right up alongside the likes of Hall of Famers such as Glenn Hall and other stars like Brian Elliott (2011-2016), who was teammates with the then rookie Binnington in his final season.
Binnington's playoff prowess can also be likened to Curtis Joseph, who backed the Blues through the postseason despite having a very slim defensive line for the first half of the 90s, where Joseph eventually totaled 137 wins in 280 games, posting a .907 save percentage and despite having a rather high GAA of 3.07.