Canada's Jordan Binnington Was An Olympic-Level Starter In Massive Moments

Heading into the 4 Nations Face-Off, the prevailing sentiment on Team Canada was it was an excellent team everywhere it counted – except for their goaltending.

Despite having two goalies with Stanley Cup championships on their resume – St. Louis' Jordan Binnington and Vegas' Adin Hill – there was an unmistakable sense that Canada's goaltending would not compare to the odds-on-favorite American squad. The U.S. had three goalies who would've been starters for Canada if their birth certificates were different. (Full disclosure: this writer bought into that sentiment.)

After Canada's loss to Team USA in the round-robin game, it looked like the tournament would unfold as expected, with the other squads taking advantage of Binnington's goaltending and scoring some goals the netminder would want back in his first two games.

However, when the rubber hit the road, and it was time for Canada to either live up to or live down to expectations, Binnington was a star.

He made big stops to win in overtime against Sweden, which gave Canada the tiebreaker after both squads were tied in points at the end of the round-robin.

And in the 4 Nations Face-Off final Thursday night in Boston, Binnington put in his best effort of the tournament, turning aside 31 of 33 shots from Team USA, including all six shots he faced in overtime as Canada pulled off a 3-2 victory.

Time and again, Binnington robbed American players, including captain Auston Matthews, who still produced primary assists on both U.S. goals. Canada needed each and every save Binnington produced Thursday to earn the win. If it had not been for Binnington's instincts and athleticism, the game might not have gone to OT. He was that good, that dominant, that clutch.

All of us who doubted Binnington owe him an apology. He took our cynical expectations, curled them into a ball and threw them back at us. And we deserved it.

The next time there's a best-on-best tournament – in 2026, at the Milan, Italy Olympic Games – Binnington is the automatic front-runner to be Canada's No. 1 netminder. He'll have legitimate competition for that job, as Washington Capitals goalie Logan Thompson, Colorado Avalanche counterpart Mackenzie Blackwood and Hill will try to make a case for themselves to be prominent parts of the Olympic team.

Binnington now can point to his international-stage success, in addition to his Cup win, as the reasons he will be the first option between the pipes.

Of course, a lot can happen in the next year that changes the goaltending depth chart for Canada. Injuries can occur, and other goalies may step up with outstanding performances that put them in the conversation. There are no guarantees for any player to be a part of the Canadian roster. However, Binnington has answered his critics the best way he can – by being a dominant force in high-stakes scenarios. 

So, let's be clear: we were absolutely wrong about Binnington, and he deserves credit for being the difference between Canada winning and losing. Center Connor McDavid was named the top player in the 4 Nations final, and center Nathan MacKinnon was named the most valuable player in the tournament. Without Binnington's heroics, we'd be looking at a very different narrative today.

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