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St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington makes a save on Boston Bruins center Alex Steeves (Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)

The Decline of Blues’ Jordan Binnington

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Anthony Testaguzza | Last updated Jan 6, 2026 1:55 PM ET

The St. Louis Blues have been on a good run to start the month, winning two games in a row. However, there is something to consider. The Blues’ most reliable starter, Jordan Binnington, has dropped some abysmal numbers this season. At the core lies the concern that he is on the decline.

2021-22 Was When Binnington Started to Decline

Before the 2021-22 season, Binnington was gaining traction as a top-10 goaltender in the league, especially after his 2018-19 performance, which led the Blues to their first Stanley Cup victory. In both 2018-19 and 2020-21, he posted over a .910 save percentage (SV%) and even earned a top 10 vote for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the best goaltender, in both seasons.

After that, his numbers dropped. In 2021-22, Binnington went 18-14-8 through 37 games with a .901 SV%, a 3.13 goals-against average (GAA), and two shutouts. This was after posting a record of 18-14-8 through 42 games with a .910 SV%, a 2.65 GAA, and no shutouts the season before.

You could argue that he didn’t have a strong enough defensive core in front of him, since that was around the time the team lost a quality defenseman, Alex Pietrangelo, or that he had more games in one season than the other. However, the Blues still made the playoffs that season and advanced to the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Binnington recorded at least two shutouts in fewer games.

So, how does this bread trail of poor goaltending lead to this season? Over the next four years after 2021-22, Binnington had a GAA over 3.00 twice, and a .900 SV% or lower three times. Now, in 2022-23, he rebounded with a .913 SV% and 2.84 GAA. He slightly dropped to 2.69 GAA last season, but his SV% wasn’t as good, just barely hitting .900 SV%. Right now, Binnington is at his worst, with a 3.40 GAA and a .874 SV%, the lowest stats of his career.

Binnington’s Lack of Shutout Performances

After his selection to Team Canada for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy, Binnington referenced it as a “time to dig in,” which he showed almost immediately, with a 25-save shutout (2-0) victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Before that, though, there was no digging in, and no other shutouts this season. The Blues’ backup goalie, Joel Hofer, has more shutouts than Binnington. He earned three shutouts through the first half of the season and is now on a better path to becoming the Blues’ starter.

Also, Binnington’s career high in shutouts is five, set in 2018-19, when the Blues won the Stanley Cup, and two seasons after that, he had none. Now, he’s a two-to-three shutout-a-season goaltender, and that’s unlikely to improve.

Binnington’s Performance Impacts the Team

Over the last three seasons, Binnington has averaged over 50 games per campaign. Still, his disappointing performance has affected the team’s results. He has started only 23 games so far this season, while Hofer has started 20 — still not too far off, but it’s more balanced. The results of his last five starts speak for themselves, however, with a record of 1-3-1.

We could see a big difference in his game after the Olympics, as he did last season, when he finished with a 13-3-1 record after the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, when he was Team Canada’s starter, playing four games en route to a gold medal.

The Blues have been floating near a wild-card spot, and they need Binnington to dig in now, not just after the Olympics, as strong goaltending is crucial to a team’s success and their ability to build defensive pressure. If he is going to slow down this long decline and become the shutdown, fearless goaltender he’s always been under pressure, the time to do it is now.