Why Blues goalie Jordan Binnington faces potential discipline after ejection vs. Wild
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Jordan Binnington had a meltdown on the ice.
The Blues goalkeeper was ejected during the team’s game against the Wild on Wednesday. As a result of his actions, Binnington is being heard before the NHL Division of Player Safety.
The 29-year-old goalkeeper has earned a reputation for being a bit of a hothead. Wednesday’s actions aren’t the first time Binnington has lost his composure this season, and they follow a pattern of previous outbursts that have occurred during his six-year NHL career.
Binnington is in the middle of his worst season yet. The 2019 Stanley Cup winner owns a 22-24-5 record with a 3.39 clean sheet average and an .892 save percentage.
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The Sporting News has more details on the potential discipline for Binnington and his background.
Why Jordan Binnington faces potential discipline
In the second period of the Blues’ 8-5 loss to the Wild on March 15, Minnesota scored three straight goals in under two minutes to take a 4-3 lead.
Blues head coach Craig Berube called a time-out, and in the end Binnington began panting on the way back to the kink at Wild’s bench, the first sign that the keeper’s blood was starting to boil.
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After St. Louis tied the game 4-4, Wild forward Ryan Hartman put the Wild back in front a minute later with a power play goal. When he finished the game, he ran past the crease to celebrate with his teammates.
As he passed, Binnington was outside the crease and Hartman collided with him, presumably by accident. That contact enraged the Blues goaltender, and he threw a hit at Hartman’s head with his blocker.
A scrum broke out between the two sides. Fierce goalie Marc-Andre Fleury came down from the other end and challenged Binnington to a fight that seemed like Binnington was willing to oblige. However, the line judges held the goalie pair back and didn’t allow a goalie fight to break out.
Officials reviewed the game and issued a match penalty to Binnington, ending his night. He also got a two-minute penalty for exiting the crease. Fleury also received a two-minute minor for exiting the crease and Hartman was hit with a minor for roughing.
History of Jordan Binnington’s suspension
Despite a wealth of previous encounters with opponents and incidents on the ice, Binnington has never before been fined or suspended by the NHL.
Earlier this year, the goalie attempted to hit Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal from behind the net. It didn’t go in Binnington’s favour.
Two days later, the Blues goalkeeper was in the headlines again. In a game against the Penguins, Binnington reached out and shoved Penguins forward Jason Zucker into the boards while he was on the forecheck. He was not penalized or disciplined by Player Safety for the game against Zucker.
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In the next half, Binnington gave up a goal to Zucker, his fourth goal of the night, and was drawn by Berube. He had some words for Zucker as he walked past the Pittsburgh bank, resulting in a 10-minute misconduct.
Berube was not happy with his goalkeeper and challenged him in his post-game press. He said Binnington’s antics “have to stop” and urged him to “just play goal, stop the puck”.
Getting involved on the benches of other teams is a matter of course for the 29-year-old, especially when he is not performing well. He came on briefly with the king’s bench in October after being drawn by Berube after giving up five goals.
In the next game, Binnington met Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin after the end of the second period, a frame in which he had conceded four goals.
Binnington’s most notable outburst came during the 2022 playoffs. In the second round against the Avalanche, Nazem Kadri collided with Binnington on a play in the crease. Binnington was forced out of the game and eliminated from the playoffs.
After the game, Kadri was interviewing TNT when someone threw an empty water bottle at him. It was confirmed that it was Binnington, who said it “just felt like it was a God-given opportunity.”
It wasn’t Binnington’s first encounter with Kadri. In 2021, the blues goalie hit the then Avalanche striker with his bat. It went unpunished by the NHL.
That same year, Binnington faked a shot in the direction of San Jose defender Erik Karlsson before getting into a brief brawl with goaltender Devan Dubnyk. Binnington left the ice having been pulled for his poor performance.
If the Player Safety Department gets tougher on Binnington about the Hartman incident, maybe the antics will ease up. But we’ll see what the decision is.