Roster afterthought now Blues’ saviour
Not that long ago, it looked like Binnington was a throwaway after solid junior career
Jordan Binnington, the goalie who has single-handedly saved the St. Louis Blues’ season, used to have the Fresh Prince of BelAir painted on the side of his mask.
It was an odd choice for someone who wasn’t even born when the TV show first aired. But considering the main character’s rags-to-riches storyline, it now sort of makes sense.
Think Will Smith’s life was changed after he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle? Take a moment to consider Binnington’s own meteoric rise.
One day, he was sitting at home in Richmond Hill, Ont., after refusing a demotion to the ECHL. A year later, after being plucked from the minors, Binnington’s the sole reason why the Blues have jumped eight spots in seven weeks and become one of the best teams in the NHL.
But don’t call the 25-year-old rookie, who is 12-1-1 with a .937 save percentage since being called up in January, a flavour of the month riding one heck of a hot streak.
A one-time OHL goalie of the year who represented Canada at the world juniors, Binnington began his pro career with the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Red Wings in 2013-14. Four years later, having played just one game with the Blues, he was so far down the depth chart that he was loaned to the Boston Bruins’ farm team in Providence.
In other words, no one was expecting him to take over the starting job from Jake Allen. Few within the organization even gave him much of a thought.
“I don’t think they were too interested in me about two years ago,” Binnington said of the Blues Friday.
“I was there the longest. And then you see other goalies come in and take your thunder and
people are now looking at them more. It gets frustrating. For anyone who has been following closely, it’s definitely a change of events.”
Two years ago, Binnington was fifth on the team’s depth chart behind Allen, Carter Hutton, Pheonix Copley and Ville Husso. After an average year in the American Hockey League, the organization wanted to demote him to the ECHL, but Binnington refused. So he returned home.
“I just tried to stay quiet and work on what I can control and see where it takes me,” said Binnington.
Eventually, a solution was found. With the Bruins lacking minor-league depth, Binnington was loaned to Providence. On the surface, it was hardly an ideal situation. Boston had nothing invested in Binnington, so he played whenever the team wanted to rest its own prospect. But when he did get in, Binnington made the most of it.
“I think it was a blessing in disguise,” said Binnington, who went 17-9-1 with a .926 save percentage last season. “It was nice to get a fresh start, some fresh eyes on you and a new respect from a different organization.”
With the season fading away, Binnington, who began the campaign with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, was called up to the Blues before Christmas and got into a couple of games in a relief role. On Jan. 7, he made his first start and stopped 25 shots in a shutout win against the Flyers.
Since then, he has lost once in regulation and posted three more shutouts to take over the starter’s job. Heading into Tuesday’s game against the Maple Leafs, Binnington has gone more than 127 minutes without allowing a goal.