St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington earned the starter's gig at the Olympics and played well for Team Canada. That should make him the top goalie available on the trade front as the Blues struggle.
There are more than a few NHL players who boosted their value with their performance at the Olympics. But the one who may have helped increase their stock as a trade asset is Team Canada goalie and St. Louis Blues netminder Jordan Binnington.
It's true that Binnington was on the losing side of the ledger for the Canadians at Sunday's gold medal game, but he always gave Canada a great chance to win the games he played in.
He finished the Olympics with very strong numbers – including a 1.78 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. That is going to ratchet up trade interest for Binnington's services, considering the Blues are second-last in the Western Conference and could become sellers.
Binnington is really the best trade option for any team seeking to stabilize its goaltending. Although his NHL stats this season are far from ideal, with an .864 SP and a 3.65 GAA in 32 games, Binnington fared much better when playing in front of an above-average defense corps that is far better than what the Blues have, but he also bailed out the Canadians when needed.
The 32-year-old is not a rental player, as he has another season left on his contract after this one. But Binnington's $6-million salary isn't all that bad, and though he has a 14-team no-trade list, there almost assuredly will be an option of a trade destination that is more competitive than St. Louis is right now.
For instance, would the Montreal Canadiens make a play for Binnington?
The Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes tandem has underwhelmed this year, with save percentages sitting below .900 and goals-against averages hovering around 3.00.
We all know how important goaltending is to any Cup-winning squad. If the Canadiens make the playoffs, they should want a netminder with experience in improving his game when the stakes rise. Binnington may welcome the opportunity to play on a Habs team seeking to take that next competitive step.
Meanwhile, what about the Philadelphia Flyers or Columbus Blue Jackets as a destination for Binnington?
The Flyers have the fourth-worst team save percentage in the NHL, according to naturalstattrick.com, and they shouldn't have to rely on Dan Vladar for all their NHL-caliber netminding. And the Blue Jackets have 24-year-old Jet Greaves as their starter, but a Greaves-Binnington tandem for the rest of this season and the next could be intriguing.
Or what about the Florida Panthers as somewhere Binnington could play? Their save percentage is second-last in the NHL, just below the Blues and Flyers. With Sergei Bobrovsky in the final season of his contract, Panthers GM Bill Zito could make a play for Binnington to essentially replace Bobrovsky – or to be part of a tandem with him this season and the next. And Binnington would likely be thrilled to join the back-to-back defending Cup champs.
Regardless of which team eventually lands Binnington, it seems crystal clear now that Binnington improved his status as a goalie of note with his solid Olympic play. He proved he can still be an effective netminder despite having a rough season with the Blues.
Blues GM Doug Armstrong can increase his asking price for Binnington in any trade, and the netminder can carve out a new chapter in his career by the March 6 NHL trade deadline.
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