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Joel Hofer. Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Is Joel Hofer the next top goaltender for the Blues?

Originally posted on Daily Faceoff | By Anthony Trudeau | Last updated 3/22/23

Jordan Binnington was suspended for two games when he swung his blocker at Minnesota’s Ryan Hartman. In his absence, 22-year-old Joel Hofer played so well for the St. Louis Blues that he was handed a third-straight start with the former Stanley Cup winner available. On Wednesday’s edition of "Daily Faceoff Live" hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and Mike McKenna discussed how Hofer’s emergence changes the Blues’ future in goal.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s dig into Joel Hofer in the Blues’ crease. Jordan Binnington gets suspended for two games; that allows Hofer to get a chance to run with a couple of starts, and does he ever make the most of it. Now up to three games started this year in the NHL, Hofer’s got a 1.32 GAA and a .959 save percentage, Mike. He’s 22 years old and an absolute monster at 6-foot-5, is Hofer the future for the Blues between the pipes?

Mike McKenna: Yeah he is, and Hofer’s been that guy now for several years and the Blues have been smart in how they’ve handled him. They’ve allowed him to mature in the AHL, they haven’t forced him into work, and that’s really why Thomas Greiss had a one-year layover. Hey, I’ve been there before, I’ve been the layover guy, I know that feeling.

The hope was that Hofer goes down to Springfield in the AHL and has a good year. He’s done that. He was an All-Star this year, he has 4 assists and a .920 save percentage in that league this season. His career in the American League has been just about as good, he even scored a goal last year in the AHL Playoffs.

I’m not surprised because Hofer plays with a ton of structure, Tyler. He’s very mechanically sound, he stays between his posts -at 6’5 that takes up an awful lot of space- and he handles the puck very well.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out over the next two seasons because Hofer is on a one-way NHL contract for the next two years. The Blues are locked and set for the next two seasons with Binnington and Hofer; they’ve got less than $7 million tied up in goaltenders that way. You just have to figure out if down the road Binnington cannot quite get back to where his game was previously and now you’ve got Hofer in the mix.

I think the Blues are in a really good spot here. They’ve handled the development of Hofer really well. He’s making good on it, which doesn’t always happen. He’s played excellently in these last three games for the Blues, even though they lost last night in a shootout to the Red Wings. In the previous two games, he did win. With a .959 save percentage so far, Tyler, there’s a reason this guy was in the cage for Canada at the World Juniors previously. You can see the talent.

Tyler Yaremchuk: You can 100 percent see the talent, and I like that you mentioned the way that they’re set up for the next couple of seasons with Hofer at just $750,000 against the cap. With the cap going up to be spending less than $7 million on your two goalies and to have Binnington and Hofer there, I think things really will work out perfectly. They’re going to have two years to really ease Hofer into the NHL lifestyle.

You don’t have to make a decision right away, it’s not like the Blues will go into this offseason and say “hey, we’ve got to move on from Binnington,” or “we can’t sign him long term.” They’ve got him locked up for a decent price for a guy who has proven he can start a lot of games in a season. That should allow them, Mike, to work Hofer into the starting role perfectly and walk before he runs.

Mike McKenna: Spot on, it’s going to let Hofer grow at the NHL level, but do not be surprised if he grabs that starting job. He’s been absolutely rock solid. Binningotn has had great games this year but has not had that level of consistency. The way Hofer plays is built for consistency. I’m anxious to see how this plays out, but as you said, cost certainty is a really good thing for the St. Louis Blues.