The St. Louis Blues are gearing up for the second of a two-game road trip to Canada, with a visit to Vancouver. Up to this point, the goaltending split has been a dead-even 50/50 with both Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer starting 34 games apiece. For the rest of the season, the decision for who gets more starts is painfully obvious.
Let's talk about it.
Who should get the workload?
Both Binnington and Hofer have had their ups and downs this season, and like it or not, they are one of many reasons why this team underperformed this season. But, with 14 games left, and a very large long shot in making the postseason, there is only one goalie that should be getting the reps for the rest of this season.
It should be Hofer.
Hofer has shown up a bit more than Binnington has, and there have been more stretches of good from No. 30. At 17-11-5, with the second-most shutouts in all of the NHL with five, he has taken great strides this season. Now, it seems like this Blues team, and their future, are in his hands.
Why is this important?
The Blues have an uncertain future, but it is going to be geared toward a younger roster. Jimmy Snuggerud, Dalibor Dvorsky, Philip Broberg, and Logan Mailloux are going to be the next core group, and that should include Hofer. If everything pans out the way that many believe it will, there is a great chance that this could lead to a lengthy championship window.
Hofer needs to get the reps now to prepare for when this roster is completely kitted out. Right now, there are holes up and down the lineup, and much of the current core group is still awaiting possible movement off the team. Binnington is included in that group.
Out with the old and in with new. Hofer should get the most of these last 14 starts.