The St. Louis Blues have a fairly reliable goaltending duo. But, should we be seeing more of an even split between them.
Starting goaltender Jordan Binnington and back-up Joel Hofer have done their best to keep the Blues in the hunt in the Central Division. Getting the Blues to a record of 13-13-2, the duo has been about as average as you can call it.
Binnington is the Blues all-time winningest goaltender, with 153 wins, and was just selected to represent Team Canada in the 4 Nations Tournament next year. But, he has been very shaky this season, and Hofer has been able to pick up the pieces on the off-days.
Should there be more an even split going forward?
The Goaltending Tandem?
There is no denying that Binnington should be considered a top-10 goaltender in the league when he is on point. This season, however, has shown a vulnerability, and his play has seriously hindered the Blues in the last two months. At 8-10-2, he has already logged 20 starts in the first 28 games of the year. He is on pace for 58 starts by the end of the year, and if the Blues are in a position for a playoff spot, it could be much more than that.
In lobbying for there to be more of a split in goaltending, Hofer has been adequate in his role. With a record of 5-3 in his eight starts, he has saved .904 percent of his shots and has tied Binnington in goals against average with 2.93 goals. If the Blues want to see what they have in Hofer, they need to start him more. His current two-year deal worth $775K is expiring at the end of this season, so he is playing for his livelihood.
Even Split?
You want to play the goaltender you are paying $6 million a year for, but if he is up-and-down, why not go with the hot hand?
An even split would look like 50 starts for Binnington and then 32 starts for Hofer. This is in a perfect world where the Blues aren't fighting for a playoff spot, or their place in the postseason is locked up. Let's be abundantly clear, if it is crunch time, or it is playoff time, Binnington will start every single game.
Getting to that point is a completely different story.
Do you think the Blues should split the goaltending more?