If the NHL ever stages its next expansion draft in 2027, the Blues could run straight into a roster headache with Jordan Binnington.
The issue isn’t the expansion draft itself. It’s the protected list.
In a proposed 7-3-1 setup discussed in The Athletic, St. Louis would protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie - and the names on that list create a real squeeze.
The forwards in that scenario are Robert Thomas, Dylan Holloway, Jimmy Snuggerud, Jake Neighbours, Mason McTavish, Connor McMichael and Pius Suter. On defense, it’s Philip Broberg, Colton Parayko and Logan Mailloux. In goal, the pick is Joel Hofer.
That leaves Binnington exposed.
And that is where the decision gets uncomfortable. The Blues would have to choose between Binnington and Hofer, and the logic points pretty clearly toward Hofer.
Protecting Binnington over Hofer would be the wrong call. But leaving Binnington available and potentially losing him for nothing would still sting.
There’s also a built-in argument for doing exactly that.
Exposing a veteran goalie in an expansion draft can be a smart play, because another team may be tempted by the chance to grab an established netminder. It also shifts attention away from other players the Blues would hate to lose.
That matters because, if the draft were in 2027, several Blues would not even be eligible. Dalibor Dvorsky and Theo Lindstein would be ineligible because they don’t have the required service time.
But the harder question is what St. Louis would do with other names on the roster.
Would the Blues rather lose Tyler Tucker than Binnington? Would they be willing to let Pavel Buchnevich walk away for nothing?
If the answer is no, then the club would need another solution.
That likely means a trade. If the Blues were determined to get something back for Binnington, they would have to move him before the draft. Otherwise, the choice would come down to losing him in free agency or losing him in the expansion draft.
Either way, it’s a rough spot.
The good news for St. Louis is that this probably won’t be a 2027 problem.
The expansion draft is more likely to land in 2029 or 2030. By then, Binnington probably won’t still be around, but the Blues will have plenty of other decisions to sort through.
Thomas, Holloway, McTavish and Buchnevich will all be close to the end of their current deals by then, and that could create a whole new set of protection questions. Who would the Blues want to keep? Would younger players push veterans off the list?
That kind of uncertainty could force an earlier trade than expected. And it means Alex Steen will need to have that protected list mapped out long before the league ever asks for it.
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Several names are in the mix, including Robert Thomas, Jake Neighbours, Philip Broberg, Jimmy Snuggerud and Colton Parayko, with a few others still lingering as long shots. The bigger question now is not just who gets the job, but when the Blues decide to make it official, since there is a growing sense around the team that a pre-season announcement would make sense if the choice is clear enough. [Read more 🡒]