The St. Louis Blues have a lot of unanswered questions heading into next season, which will be their first full season in this retooling phase. With a plethora of young talent making their way up from Springfield to the NHL, there is a lot to be excited about.
One more player to be very excited about, should hopefully get a few Vezina Trophy votes for his performance in 2025-26. You would think it would be Jordan Binnington, but instead, it is future starter, Joel Hofer.
Let's talk about why he deserves some recognition for these upcoming awards.
Hofer was great on a bad team
Let's be perfectly clear, Hofer was great in between the pipes in 2025-26. With minimal defense and a seriously flawed offense, he still finished the season with a record of 24-13-5 in 43 starts. No. 30 had a save percentage of .909 and a goals against average of 2.64.
Those are some respectable numbers, but the eye test confirmed that Hofer is a fantastic goaltender to carry the torch from Binnington. As the Blues are entering a new era of their legendary history, it is time to leave No. 50 behind and focus on the next best thing.
That should be able to garner a few votes right there.
A close second in a major stat
What is really going to seal the deal for Hofer is his placement in one particular stat. Behind the New York Islanders' goaltender Ilya Sorokin, who is going to give Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy a run for his money in this Vezina race, Hofer had six shutouts this season.
Yes, six shutouts.
If you have problems scoring goals or defending them, just handle it yourself with a shutout victory. That must have been what Hofer was thinking this season, as he tripled his career shutout tally in just 2025-26.
Hofer's efforts in 2025-26 should be celebrated. He did not do enough to win the iconic trophy for best goaltender in the NHL, but he definitely earned some of the votes coming his way.
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