The Blues are staring at a goaltending decision this offseason, and social media is already doing Doug Armstrong's homework for him.
A post from @TheMugNHL on Tuesday evening floated the idea of Stuart Skinner landing in St. Louis if the Blues move on from Jordan Binnington.
The tweet argued a Hofer-Skinner tandem at around $4 million AAV would give Joel Hofer the runway to develop into a full-time starter.
It's not a crazy idea. But the numbers behind it are more complicated than the pitch suggests.
Binnington finished the season at a .875 save percentage over 40 starts, with 12 wins. That's a bad number for a goaltender making $6 million against the cap.
Hofer, by contrast, was one of the better goaltending stories in the Central this year. He went 21-13 with a .909 SV% and 6 shutouts in 46 games.
That gap between the two Blues goalies is not small.
Skinner's Pittsburgh stint raised more questions than answers
Skinner spent the season with Pittsburgh at a $2.6 million cap hit. He went 17-18 over 50 starts with a .888 save percentage and 2 shutouts.
In his 3 games specifically as a Penguin, he went 0-0-3 with a .871 SV%.
That small sample tells you something, or at least it gives Jim Montgomery pause if he's thinking about this.
The ex-Oiler carries a clear appeal as a low-cost insurance option. But there's a difference between a reclamation project and a legitimate backup, and right now it's unclear which category Skinner belongs to.
Armstrong built a Blues roster that went 37-33-12 this year, finishing with 86 points and a -27 goal differential. That's a team that needs better goaltending, not a cheaper version of the same problem.
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What it doesn't address is whether Skinner's year in Pittsburgh actually reset his value, or just confirmed that his Edmonton peak was tied to a specific system around one of the deepest rosters in the league.
Hofer is a legitimate starting-caliber goalie at 25. Building around him is the right call.
Whether Skinner is the right co-pilot is a much harder sell.
Should the Blues sign Stuart Skinner to back up Joel Hofer next season?
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