Jordan Binnington’s first win of the 2026-27 season gave the St. Louis Blues a needed lift, but it didn’t exactly calm the nerves around his game.
St. Louis knocked off the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 over the weekend, and there were plenty of bright spots around the roster.
The top line showed some life at last, Jake Neighbours scored his first goal of the season, and Binnington finally got into the win column. On the surface, that’s a clean result.
The problem is how the Blues got there. The win came despite Binnington more than because of him.
He gave up three goals and finished with an .870 save percentage, which hardly reads like a turnaround. Through two games, Binnington sits at .847, the ninth worst mark in the league. Save percentage doesn’t tell the whole story, but the underlying numbers aren’t doing him any favors either.
According to Money Puck’s Goals Saved Above Expected, Binnington is minus-3.6, which ranks seventh worst in the league. Two goalies below him are with the Calgary Flames, and another is Kevin Lankinen of the Vancouver Canucks - all three tied to teams not chasing the same goals as St.
Louis. If the Blues can’t keep covering for what’s happening in net, the margin for error disappears fast.
And this isn’t coming out of nowhere. Last season, Binnington’s minus-22.4 GSAx was the worst in the league.
If Joel Hofer hadn’t caught fire after the Winter Olympics, the Blues would almost certainly have ended up with a top-five draft pick. The warning signs were already there, and they’ve followed Binnington into this season.
That leaves St. Louis in a tough spot.
If Binnington keeps posting sub-.900 save percentages, the Blues will keep taking losses when he starts, and a team with playoff hopes can’t afford that. The issue is that the club doesn’t have much else to turn to right now, with limited goaltending depth in the AHL.
A trade could be part of the answer, whether that means bringing in a new goalie or sending Binnington somewhere for a fresh start. But moves like that are never simple.
Goaltenders are volatile by nature, and it’s hard to know whether a change of scenery fixes things or just shifts the problem. The Tristan Jarry for Stuart Skinner swap last season is the kind of cautionary example that hangs over this discussion.
For now, it may come down to sticking with the goalie the Blues know. Hofer has the net, but Binnington still has to shoulder some of the load.
A major shakeup feels premature, but if the numbers don’t improve, St. Louis may not have the luxury of waiting much longer.
A backup running an .870 SV% in December won’t fly in a competitive Central Division.
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