"You've got to be bold, because fortune favors the bold," a comment that 26 year-old St. Louis Blues netminder Jordan Binnington made when Mark Masters of TSN caught up with him to discuss his new 2-year contract. I don't think it's possible to be any more bold than to get a call-up as the fourth goaltender on the Blues' depth chart and go on to win 40 of 56 starts, en route to the first Stanley Cup Championship in the club's 52-year history.
When Masters asked Binnington how he feels about the contract and whether or not he felt it was a fair deal, Binnington said, "You need a good team to win. I think it's a fair deal in that aspect. Obviously, I'm confident with myself and I believe I deserve more and I will earn more."
It's difficult to argue that the Blues did not get the better end of this deal, in that Binnington's 1.89 GAA was tops in the NHL and his 0.927 save percentage was tied for 4th in the NHL for any goalie who started over 30 games. Concerns over whether or not Binnington would be able to repeat his performance no doubt played a role in the negotiations, leading to a more "team friendly" cap hit.
One player who has no doubt about Binnington's game is Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin who had this to say about the Blues' goalie: "If you look at our last 3 BioSteel camps, I drafted him first overall in the last 3 years, so you guys can put it together".
Binnington's new contract was signed on July 13th and pays him $8.8 million over 2 years, a $4.4 million AAV.
-
