Jan 2, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer (30) makes a save against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Blues Goalie Stealing Starting Job

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jacob Punturi | Last updated Jan 14, 2026 10:00 AM ET

The St. Louis Blues are trying to rectify their season as the second half begins. They are currently outside of the Western Conference playoff picture, but like they've done several times over the past few seasons, they become a much better team after the new year.

The start of their second half has quickly ignited that belief in the Blues. St. Louis welcomed the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes to their home ice and defeated them 3-0.

It was an encouraging performance from the entire team, but there was one player in particular that stood out. That was goaltender Joel Hofer, who stopped all 33 shots he faced. The 25-year-old has been playing solid in net, and with the team playing even better in front of him, Hofer may have officially stolen the starting job in St. Louis.

Hitting His Stride

Hofer has been steadily rising with the Blues, but he's played second fiddle to Stanley Cup champion Jordan Binnington over the past few seasons. He's appeared in 30 and 31 games in the last two seasons, but he's already at 25 games played through the team's first 47 contests. He's on pace to start over 30 games for the first time in his NHL career, and the more his workload increases, the better he seems to play.

Over his last 10 starts, Hofer has looked like an everyday, starting goaltender. He's stopped over 90% of the shots he's faced in six of those 10 starts, and the Blues have won six of those 10 games. Compare that to Binnington, who has stopped more than 90% of the shots faced in a game just once in his past 10 starts, and it's clear who the better goaltender is right now.

Better Defense in Front?

Part of the reason the Blues need to stick with Hofer is how much better their defense plays with him than with Binnington. Over that same 10-game stretch, Hofer has not faced more than 33 shots against. Meanwhile, Binnington has faced 35 shots or more twice, including 43 shots faced in a recent loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

That difference was highlighted once again in the Blues' win over the Hurricanes, as they limited one of the NHL's best shot-generating teams to 33 shots on goal. Hofer spoke after the game about how well the team defended in front of him to pitch in on his shutout.

"Obviously, we know they’re a high-shot volume team,” he said. “The first couple of minutes, you could obviously tell they were shooting everything. Our D-men did a great job boxing out and making sure I saw the shots."

With Hofer playing well and the Blues finding some life, it's clear they have a new starting goalie. He's stolen the job from Binnington, and as long as the team defense remains improved with Hofer in net, there should be no reason to go back to the veteran puck-stopper.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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