If you search back through the history of the National Hockey League, there are a number of teams that found glory after gaining one player who made that one key difference. The Edmonton Oilers brought over Wayne Gretzky, the New York Rangers acquired Mark Messier, the New Jersey Devils drafted Martin Brodeur, the list goes on and on and on.
For the St. Louis Blues, you can make an argument that their greatest player of all time would be Brett Hull, and deservingly so. But, can there be one more player that, had he never emerged into his role on the sole Stanley Cup victory in this franchise's long-standing history, rival Hull?
What would have happened had goaltender Jordan Binnington never emerged?
Blues never lift the Stanley Cup
Drafted in the third round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Binnington was not the original starter for the 2018-19 season. That belonged to Jake Allen, who struggled throughout the season before losing his job after Binnington bursted onto the scene on Jan. 7, 2019, against the Philadelphia Flyers. The 3-0 shutout would spark a revolutionary event in this franchise's history and sparked the ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup just 5 months or so later.
Had Binnington not gotten that start, and instead, joined either at the end of the season like a normal rookie would, or waited until the 2019-20 season to begin his career, the Blues do not have their glory.
Blues might never ever lift the Stanley Cup
As of right now, the Blues are in a great position to be a Stanley Cup contender. Despite not making it past the first round since winning it all in 2018-19, there is a sense that the tide is changing. The team is completely different, without Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko to lead the charge, but there is one reminder in between the pipes. A reminder that symbolizes that the Blues have made it all the way before, and can do it again.
Binnington, despite approaching the middle of his thirties, can still compete at an extremely high level and can give the Blues the recipe for victory. Furthermore, he is now in a mentoring role, with a stud goaltender right behind him that could take his job one day, and be a seamless transition, in Joel Hofer.