I thought team quality didn't matter? I've said that if the Blues were a better team that his numbers would be better. Unfortunately we're the inferior team more often than not this year.
So, last year he was 5th in the league in GSAx, this year he's like 30th or something. So is he a good goalie or not? Goalie numbers fluctuate so much from year to year that you have to look at the bigger picture. Last year Swayman and Bobrovsky were right next to Binner near the top of the list, and this year they are right next to him farther down the list. Hellebuyck is first in GSAx, which makes sense, but Jake Allen is 5th in the league. Would Blues fans rather have him back instead of Binner? Logan Thompson and Daccord are 2nd and 3rd this year but were 24th and 26th last year. Basically every goalie fluctuates from year to year except for a very small group.
I'd like to see what Binner's GSAx is in close games and take out the goals he let in that make a 4-1 game 5-1 because a lot of goals don't really affect the outcome of games, yet they will be included in their overall stats. Obviously Binner hasn't played as well this year as he did last year, but the team also hasn't been anywhere near good enough either. All I'm saying is that if the team plays well enough, then I have faith in Binner, regardless of what his numbers are right this moment.
I have a feeling Canada is gonna win on Thursday and maybe Binner will start getting a little more respect around the hockey world. His numbers may not look great in a vacuum, but if he goes 3-1 and helps Canada win then it won't really matter. Of course if he blows it, then he may have to relinquish his Canadian citizenship.
I've been pretty vocal in the past in saying that there are few goaltenders I'd rather have in a playoff series than Binnington, and overall, he's been one of the best Blues goaltenders of all time. I feel like I'm also being lumped in with certain posters who think he's a bad goaltender, which couldn't be further from the truth.
I think he is struggling though, not just on the stat sheet, but his mechanics aren't as solid as they have been, his reaction time has seemed a tick slow over the last couple of months, and because of that, I've started to question,
"What's wrong with Binny?" He just doesn't look right to me. Even when he was getting lit up two seasons ago, I had more confidence in him individually.
Would I prefer Allen to Binnington? No, but that's because the overall body of recent work isn't outweighed by what we've seen from Binnington at his best. However, if Binnington doesn't clean up his game while the team is feeling the need to dissect the core further, we could be reaching a point where there's a cheaper option available who can play at a replacement level, which is essentially the level he's playing at this season.
Now, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he held USA to fewer than two goals on Thursday. His compete level is off the charts. I want USA to win, but if they must lose, I'd love for Binnington to shove it in people's faces. Judging by the first few games of the tournament though, he'll need a shutout to quiet any criticisms on social media, and even then, I'm sure they'll give all the credit to Cale Makar. As a Blues and Jordan Binnington fan, it only helps us if he plays lights out.
Still, it doesn’t quiet the doubts I have about what I’m seeing this season outside of the stat sheet. I've defended him in this thread after each game for reasons you've suggested, but you can't deny that he's given up a soft goal in every start of this tournament. That to me aligns with what I've seen from him with the Blues this season. The overall body of work has raised doubts. Something is off. I'm not used to seeing him give up soft goals at the same rate that he has this season. He's done it in every game of this tournament. His overall body of work hasn't been
bad this season, just as I’d say he hasn’t been
bad during the 4 Nations Face Off, but he’s not making the stops that we used to be able to count on him to make, and I think it’s reasonable to question why.
For me, it’s too easy to chalk it up to defense when, by most metrics, our defense has been solid at worst since Monty took over. The D doesn’t look anywhere near as bad as it did in 2022-23, that’s for sure.
At the end of the day, Binnington is a solid but slightly overpaid 1A who has a history of big game competitiveness. That’s my honest assessment after watching nearly every one of his starts over the last few seasons. Can he return to being that guy who has enough
ups to outweigh the
downs? I hope so, and it wouldn’t surprise me. That’s the only justification I need as a fan to say,
Eh, he's paid a bit much, but I see no problem rolling with him. But I think it’s fair to question his play this season and, if it continues, begin to ask the difficult question of whether we're reaching the point where it may be better to turn over the reins to a different 1A with Hofer and reinvest that money elsewhere while Binnington still has value.
