I'm curious what people think around here about trading Hofer this offseason or in the coming years. Binnington is obviously older but he's still playing great and goalies tend to age well. I'd say he has at least 5 more years of quality hockey in him. I know Hofer has been thought of as the goalie of the future for awhile, but it looks like he could be stuck behind Binnington until his late 20s, which I imagine would not be something he would want to entertain. Blues have Ellis who is playing fantastic right now in the AHL as well. Hofer's contract is up this year.
I think the main thing that makes this difficult is that the goalie trade market is almost always a buyer's market. I wonder if that could change with a couple teams nearing their window closing in desperate need of a goalie like Edmonton. I am not sure where I stand on the matter. I just find it hard to see Hofer staying here happily behind Binnington until he's 28-30 years old. I know some people might say trade Binnington instead but I don't like that idea. Binnington is a proven starter who can play great when it matters. As I mentioned above, despite his age I still think he has a lot left in the tank. Hofer has been a good young backup but he is not a proven starter yet at all. That jump from backup to starter is massive. You get less favorable matchups and way more workload.
My gut tells me that this is a situation that will probably be punted down the line. We will likely sign him this offseason to a bridge deal and see where both Binnington and Hofer are at in two years. One thing to note in that situation is that if you sign Hofer for 2 or more years, you likely need to trade Ellis. You wont get much for him but he's already 24 and deserves a shot to make a team somewhere.
I'm in zero rush to trade Hofer. We have several more years of team control and while I might be the biggest Hofer fan in the world, he hasn't been so good that I'm worried about him getting poached yet.
But however you view Hofer/Ellis, absolutely zero decision should be made under the assumption that Binner has "at least 5 more years of quality hockey in him." That would take him through his age 36 season. While there are plenty of Hall of Fame goalies who have kept it going through their mid-late 30s, it is
far from a given.
Henrik Lundqvist was 31 when he took the Rangers to the Final but was no longer up to his incredible standard starting in his age 34 season. Aafter 7 straight seasons of .920 goaltending, he was a .910 guy at age 34. While he was still a starter in his age 34-36 seasons, he was no longer the stud we remember.
Jonathan Quick's final .915+ season (and the last time he ever got Vezina votes was his age 32 season. He was sub-.900 in his age 33 and 35 seasons (plus .904 in his age 34 season).
Tuukka Rask took the Bruins to the Final in his age 31 season and was the Vezina runner up the next year in his age 32 season. He played 28 more games for the rest of his career.
Carey Price was himself through his age 32 season. He got the Habs to the Final in his age 33 season and then played 5 more career games.
Crawford won his 2nd Cup in his age 30 season and finished 5th in Vezina voting in his age 31 season. He had a great age 32 season and then had 3 more years where he looked good when he played, but was limited to under 40 starts each year until retiring after his age 35 season.
Bishop was a stud from age 27 to age 32 (when he finished runner up for Vezina and damn near stole a series from us in 2019). He played 43 more NHL games after that.
These guys weren't flashing warning lights on the dash at age 31 and I'd argue that most/all had more stable/impressive resumes than Binner's last few years taken as a whole. The position has never been harder on the hips than it currently is and goaltending is a position where one injury can forever destroy your ability to do what you need to do to be successful.
Binner absolutely
could continue to be what you need in net into and through his mid-30s, but it is far from a given. We absolutely should not be moving out other goalies based on an assumption that he's your guy for the entirety of a 5 year window. Especially since he needs a new contract 2 years from now and did a fantastic job maximizing his leverage to get full market value in his last 2 contract negotiations. If he keeps up his level of play for the next couple years (and maybe has an Olympic gold and/or more playoff success) he should absolutely be looking for a long-term deal that takes him to age 38 or beyond.
Unless a team offers us something that you just can't pass up, I think you bridge Hofer for 2 years, which puts all 3 goalies on the same contractual timeline. Then you make a decision when you have to.
