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Oilers could have trade interest in Blues goalie Binnington: report

Preston Hodgkinson
Preston Hodgkinson
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Nov 8 2023, 5:14 pm
Oilers could have trade interest in Blues goalie Binnington: report

The Edmonton Oilers appear to be searching for a new starting goaltender.

After putting veteran goaltender Jack Campbell on waivers yesterday and calling up AHL netminder Calvin Pickard to replace him, rumours began to circulate that the team might not be done.

On the Tuesday nightĀ edition of Inside Sports on 630 CHED, host Reid Wilkins made a comment about the Oilers potentially having trade interest in St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington.

“There are very quiet rumblings that the Oilers might be going after Jordan Binnington,” reported Wilkins.

Binnington is an interesting player for Edmonton to be interested in. The 30-year-old is best known as the goalie that helped the 2018-19 Blues rally from last place in January to a Stanley Cup victory in June, sporting an incredible 24-5-1 record after being called up to the team.

He has been in the NHL ever since, with some rather mixed results. Last season was his worst with the Blues. In 61 games, he had a 27-27-6 record and posted a .894 record.

This season has seen an early rebound by Binnington. Though he has a 3-4-1 record, he has been fantastic with a .919 save percentage. Though he has been good early, the Blues might want to transition rookie Joel Hofer into their starting goalie.

Outside of his play, Binnington has a bit of a reputation for being a loose cannon between the whistles. Just last season, he nearly squared up with Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury before the linesman broke them up. He was also nearly involved in a fight with Colorado Avalanche goalie Alexander Georgiev.

This type of fiery goaltending is nothing new for the Oilers. Former Oilers goalie Mike Smith was never afraid of mixing it up with opponents. The most famous example of this came in 2020 when he dropped the glove and blocker against then-Calgary Flames goalie Cam Talbot.

Perhaps adding a bit of a temperamental personality is exactly what the Oilers need to jumpstart their locker room. Though Binnington’s play has been a bit up and down as of late, he does have a proven track record of playing well when it matters most.

The trade would be a difficult one to manage. Binnington has a $6 million cap hit, and according to CapFriendly, the Oilers only have space to add $445,098. This means St. Louis would have to either take money back or retain a significant portion of his salary, which is unlikely as Binnington still has three more seasons left on the deal.

Whatever the Oilers do, they’ll have to do it quickly, as they risk falling out of the playoff hunt just a month into the season.

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