Did Ville Husso Steal Jordan Binnington’s Job With The Blues?
Have you not heard? Are you not aware? Do you not know? The man, the myth, the legend that is Ville Husso is taking the hockey world by storm. The Blues *backup* goaltender hasn’t just been good this year for St. Louis. Jordan Binnington might want to start packing his bags if things don’t change quickly.
Did Ville Husso steal Jordan Binnington’s job? Depends on what angle you want to talk about. Is Husso better than Binnington at getting into goalie fights or fights in general? No. We stan Binnington when he causes trouble. The only problem is Binnington just isn’t that good. When it comes to on-ice performance, Husso has been night and day better.
Husso, 26, is a former 4th round pick with limited experience in the NHL. Right now, I don’t care that Husso only has 29 starts under his belt. This man has been nothing short of god mode since the start of the 2021-22 season.
Ville Husso is playing out of his mind. I’m not sure it would matter who the Blues starting goalie is. Husso needs reps. The fact that Husso is sticking Binnington in his back pocket is the reason why we’re having this discussion.
Husso: 1.90 GAA, .941 SV%, 65 GA%, 2.04 adjGAA
Binnington: 3.27 GAA, .901 SV%, 109 GA%, 3.49 adjGAA
In fairness to Binnington, Husso would have been pushing any veteran netminder. Husso leads the NHL in all four of those categories. Nobody has been better. Nobody. This is Ville Husso’s world. We’re just living in it.
Of course, the Blues have an interesting decision on their hands. They have already paid Binnington. Odds are, he’s not going anywhere unless St. Louis is able to work a trade (Can I interest anyone in a Darcy Kuemper for Binnington swap?).
Binnington, 28, signed a six-year contract worth $36 million in March of 2021. He is supposed to be the goalie of the future. Husso is an unrestricted free agent after this year and can sign anywhere he so chooses. Quite the dilemma.
This is a Blues team that can’t afford to miss either. They’re a fringe contender at best sitting at 4th place in the Western Conference’s Central Division. Vladimir Tarasenko already kinda wants out but is playing his ass off. The decision to pay Torey Krug over Alex Pietrangelo wasn’t a smart one. They gave too much money to Brandon Saad. It’s a good team, but not an elite one.
The defense is also a problem in St. Louis. You’re not getting away with bad goalie play. The Blues are facing 32.27 shots per game. All of the teams below them on the list either aren’t contenders or in the rare case of Edmonton and Minnesota, have explosive offenses that can balance things out.
Husso and Binnington are dealing with the same circumstances. One guy is a monster. The other guy ain’t it.
Maybe the issue resolves itself. Maybe all this Ville Husso hype train is nonsense and Binnington will figure it out. For now, the Blues have NO CHOICE but to keep playing Husso until that train crashes – if it ever does. The Blues might have a real star goalie on their hands and it probably isn’t Binnington.
