The NHL Network released its list of the top 10 current goaltenders for the 2025/26 season, and the St Louis Blues' starting goaltender has made the list.
32-year-old Jordan Binnington comes in at 7th, ahead of Central Division rivals like Filip Gustavsson in Minnesota, which is impressive considering Gustavsson is one of only a handful of goalies in NHL history to score a goal, and he actually did it against St Louis at the beginning of the 2024/25 season.
Gustavsson also had a better record than Binnington at 31-19-6 and posted a 2.56 GAA, and a .914 SVG, making fans wonder just how good Binnington really is. But what might have put Binner ahead of Gus was his performance in Game 7 of the Blues' first round series against the Winnipeg Jets, where he stopped 43 total shots before the inevitable double overtime loss.
Another advantage was Binnington's strong stretch last February through April, where he compiled an 11-2-0 record over 13 games, posting a 2.00 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
Binnington is one of four Central Division goaltenders to make the list, the others being Gustavsson, Jake Oettinger in Dallas at No. 5, and Winnipeg's veteran netminder Connor Hellebuyck taking the top spot. With that in mind, the Central Division definitely has the talent at the goaltender position, and the other divisions may have their own advantages.
Binnington also played strongly for Team Canada en route to the team's 4 Nations Faceoff win over the US, making several key saves when the game approached the extra period. It hmay have been risky to start a goaltender as sometimes hot-headed as Binnington, but Canada bench boss Jon Cooper, from the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team with their own Andrei Vasilevsky on the list himself, knew what he was doing. Binnington can clearly deliver in big moments, whether it's a playoff game or a gold medal tournament game.
The Blues may have found their newest full time goaltender, ahead of the also decent Joel Hofer, who will serve as backup like he did in 2024/25. But if the Blues want to make another playoff push and (hopefully) get past the 1st round, Binnington is the guy to rely on, especially with a reworked Blues team and the option that Binnington might get fewer games, leading to more preparedness come next April.
No doubt the toughest competition the Blues will face will be the likes of Dallas and Winnipeg with their own stellar goaltenders, and it could lead to a second straight wild card finish for the Blues, landing them 5th in an always battling Central Division.
But if teams like Nashville and Chicago continue to struggle, and if the newly renamed Utah Mammoth can't post their best efforts, things might be a little easier for the Blues down the road.