If there is one team in the Western Conference that may be going through a lineup overhaul in 2024-25, it’s the St. Louis Blues, so New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald could have a potential gold mine over in Gateway City with the number of experienced players the Blues could send elsewhere.
The obvious caveat is that many of these players have full no-trade clauses next to their respective contracts, or at least partial clauses, and going to what was a bad team in 2023-24 may be out of the question for them. But the Devils also have an intriguing young core, and one that may entice a few of those established talents on the Blues to at least strongly consider if a potential trade pops up.
If there’s one player the Devils would probably cherish at this point, it’s an unprecedented one in goaltender Jordan Binnington, someone who I said was a longshot but realistic trade piece. Binnington isn’t on anyone’s trade radar at the moment, and with so many other goaltending candidates, it’s easy to see why that is, but it would make sense to inquire.
An unprecedented Jordan Binnington trade to the New Jersey Devils would work
Okay, so why not Jacob Markstrom, Linus Ullmark, Filip Gustavsson, or Juuse Saros, or in other words, goaltenders who actually are in the rumor mill? Several reasons, starting with the fact the Blues have an incredible successor to Binnington in Joel Hofer. Not quite the Linus Ullmark-Jeremy Swayman situation, but Hofer was outstanding this past season, and he will only keep cutting into Binnington’s playing time.
For another, moving Binnington makes the Blues younger, something that may become more apparent in Gateway City this offseason, and it also gives the Blues more room to extend someone like Jake Neighbours, and perhaps even Hofer - extending more players in a younger core that already includes Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas.
Doug Armstrong would also be able to get a first-round pick for Binnington, and St. Louis could also be a place for Tom Fitzgerald to potentially move John Marino or Jonas Siegenthaler so they can get back on track.
Sure, this hypothetical trade would be unprecedented and jaw-dropping, but at the end of the day, there are no losers here should something like this occur. No one would see it coming, but the Blues would be even younger. And with an additional draft pick, while the Devils would have a viable goaltender for the next three seasons, per Binnington’s current contract.