ST. LOUIS – The NHL season for 2025-26 drops the puck on Tuesday. For the St. Louis Blues, it opens Thursday at home against the Minnesota Wild.
Print newspapers and the interwebs are filled with predictions and prognostications from who’s going to win the Stanley Cup to top players at each position, etc. etc.
One thing that seems to remain consistent is that Jordan Binnington, depending on who’s making the prediction, is all over the map when it comes to top-tiered goalies.
NHL.com has him at No. 7 on their top 10 list, which seems fair. But the fantasy page at NHL.com has Binnington 16th. It’s sort of how his career has gone, from bursting onto the scene, putting the team on his back in 2018-19 and winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history, then seeing his numbers drop in the wrong way the ensuing few seasons, before beginning an uptick in the right direction again the past two years.
It’s how the 32-year-old Richmond Hill, Ontario native is viewed around the league. Take a look at The Hockey News fantasy rankings, which has him at No. 10; how about Daily Faceoff, which has Binnington and Joel Hofer 14th among goalie tandems; here's one that has Binnington 22nd, in the fourth tier called embrace the variance; another fantasy draft ranking at No. 17; here's one showing more respect with a No. 7 ranking; how about this one putting him in the eighth tier; ESPN fantasy rankings has Binnington 14th among goalies; not even listed as a top 10 goalie here; and last, but not least.
When asked, most athletes will tell you they don’t pay attention to what others say, but they know. Do they ever know.
“I think most players want to be recognized as the game’s best and that’s no secret,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “He works every day at it. I feel like there should be more respect there in those lists, but those are people’s opinions. At the end of the day, you have to go out and prove people wrong, which he’s done his whole career and he’ll continue to try and get better and keep on doing that.”
Imagine having to prove people wrong as a Stanley Cup champion, having to prove people wrong after representing his country at the World Championships and 4 Nations Face-Off, where he won the gold medal game last year.
So when it’s – with good reason – Connor Hellebuyck, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jake Oettinger, Igor Shesterkin, Filip Gustavsson, Adin Hill, Mackenzie Blackwood, Sergei Bobrovsky, Ilya Sorokin, among others getting the accolades as the game’s best, Binnington gets the chance to once again prove that he’s among the best.
Just look at his three preseason games where he had a 0.86 goals-against average and sparkling .973 save percentage.
Remember when Binnington took over for Ville Husso during the Stanley Cup playoffs and was 4-1 with a 1.72 GAA and .949 save percentage before Nazem Kadri ended his season early in Game 3 of the second round? How about last season when Binnington finished the season 15-3-2 with a 2.34 GAA and .908 save percentage helping the Blues get back to the playoffs for the first time in three years and having better numbers than Hellebuyck despite falling in seven games of the first round.
But yet, it’s time to prove himself once again.
“I don’t know if he cares for recognition or media or whatever it is,” Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. “I think he knows how good he is. I feel like it bothers us more than it bothers him probably that he’s not mentioned with those goalies. He’s done everything. He’s won the Cup, he’s won the 4 Nations. Everything that you kind of need to do as a goaltender to gain that recognition, he’s done. It seems like he still doesn’t get it. But I think that’s only motivating for him and for us and to continue to prove why we’re such a good team. He’s obviously the backbone to it.”
That’s why the backbone entered this training camp with a purpose: to elevate not only himself but the team, to use that heartbreaking ending to the season as a steppingstone and to get back as one of the top-tiered teams.
“Just in the moment is what we personally strive to be in," Binnington said. “Yeah I feel good right now. It is just preseason and there’s a long way to go, but I’m just trying to focus on my process. That’s where my head’s at.”
Binnington’s preseason consisted of seven periods and he was only beaten twice on 73 shots, and when he gets the nod in the season-opener Thursday, Blues coach Jim Montgomery knows his guy is and has been on top of his game, and knows why.
“Someone really calm, someone that fights to find pucks through traffic,” Montgomery said. “There’s a lot of traffic shots (last Thursday) that he made look easy that are not easy, and then just his ability to play the puck and slow everything down so we can have easy breakouts.
“I guess I’ve been around three camps (including two an an assistant coach in 2020-21 and 2021-22). I think this is the best I’ve seen him look in a camp.
“He just looks supremely confident. Looks calm. Every game he’s played in, he’s had to make numerous, good, real high-end saves, and he’s made them look easy.”
Sounds like a lot of the top-end guys, right?
“He looks great. Performance obviously is there, but from what I see from what the average human does is how hard he works and how much time and effort he puts in,” Schenn said. “Not only on the ice but off the ice and away from the rink. As you get older, you get more experience and have to find different ways to make yourself better. He seems to be doing that.”
As much as players would appreciate the acknowledgment from the outside, as long as they’re getting it from teammates inside is all that matters.
“Definitely. No disrespect to the media, but your teammates’ opinions is a lot more important than what networks are saying about you, right,” Schenn said. “I think he’s confident in his abilities, he’s confident in how hard he works, he puts in the time and effort and we feel in the locker room when either goalie’s in the net, we have a chance every single night.”
“He’s a fierce competitor. If the 4 Nations and Stanley Cup run doesn’t convince people that he’s one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL, well, then so be it,” Montgomery said. “We know internally that he is.”
It was pretty evident from the first practice that the focus was there, the attention to detail, working with Hofer and director of goaltending, David Alexander, that the building blocks are there to become elite.
“I think just from experience, you gain wisdom,” Binnington said. “You know what you need, you know what you need to feel good. You want to contribute in any way you can and be a part of a strong group.
“It’s exciting to be a part of this group right now. We’ve got some work to do on just tightening things up. It’s an exciting time, and I think it’s been a good camp. Just competitive, quality practices and now we’re shortening the numbers here and getting her tighter and tighter every day.”
Oh, and the part of proving himself again, Binnington will surely need to convince a country again that he’s the guy. After all, the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026 is right around the corner.
“Yeah, absolutely. I know that’s kind of something that’s been on his calendar for a long time now,” Neighbours said. “Getting to do the 4 Nations and the way he performed there, getting a taste of that best on best only made him better and made him excited for the Olympics.”
And excited for another Blues season, which fuels confidence for Binnington’s teammates.
“I think just the whole team in front of him feels comfortable,” Blues center Robert Thomas said. “You know with ‘Binner’ and ‘Hofe’, you know how good our goalies are and gives us a lot of confidence to make more aggressive plays and to try and possess the puck more and play an aggressive game. Especially handling the puck … so many things he does well.”
When you hear 'Big Game Binnington,' that's what the Blues are counting -- and banking -- on.
“It gives us so much confidence back there to play,” Blues defenseman Philip Broberg said. “… He’s incredible. Obviously he played real well (last Thursday) and he’s played good for us all year last year. He gives us confidence back there and helps us out on breakouts as well.”