Binnington aiming to be back in goal for Canada at Olympics

NHL players will participate in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 this February, the first time since 2014 the best players in the world will be on the Olympic stage. NHL.com will post a story each Monday to count down to the 2026 Olympics. Today, a look at St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, who is hoping to start for Canada.

CALGARY -- Jordan Binnington and Martin Brodeur played a round of golf together in St. Louis a little over a year ago, a time when one of the most pressing sports questions north of the border was who would be Canada's starting goalie at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Binnington, the St. Louis Blues goalie, was among a handful of candidates mentioned in the national debate, so he and Brodeur, the Hall of Fame goalie who for years made the goalie question in Canada a non-factor, talked about the future and opportunities over 18 holes.

"I was just asking him any question I could think of and he was answering all of them," Binnington told NHL.com at Canada's Olympic Team Orientation Camp last month.

Brodeur's responses were borne out of personal experience.

"When I talked to him it was, 'This is an important time in your career,'" Brodeur said. "It was, 'It's going to define who you're going to be as a goalie.'"

Binnington took it to heart.

He got the net at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, started Canada's four games and lifted his team to an overtime win against the United States in the championship game with a for-the-ages performance at TD Garden, emphatically ending the national goaltending debate.

Binnington built on his success coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off, leading the Blues, eight points out of a wild-card position in the Western Conference going into the break, to the best post-tournament record in the League and into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

As he prepares for his eighth NHL season in St. Louis, Binnington is the favorite to be Canada's goalie at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, hoping to follow the golden path skated by Brodeur in 2002, Roberto Luongo in 2010 and Carey Price in 2014.

"It's very special and it's something I don't take lightly," Binnington said. "Being at the orientation (camp) really set a vision for all of us on what's ahead and the path to get there and what goes into it. I'm really starting to see the vision and the opportunity. It's exciting. It's the same old story of just focusing on what you can control, being the best version of yourself, seeing what you're capable of and seeing where that takes me. That's how I will direct my focus."

Brodeur said he talked to Binnington about this possibility when they were together last summer.

"I mentioned it to him, 'Let's say you perform well, you're going to have all the rights to be the starter at the next event, but it's all about your next performance,' " Brodeur said. "If you're able to stay there and play well for Canada the sky is the limit."

He said he would expand on that advice in advance of the Olympics.

"You have the net now," Brodeur said. "I don't know if he's going to have it, but that was my mentality when I played; until I lose, I'm the guy. So, embrace it as long as you can. I think that's the attitude he's going to have."

Binnington gained a different perspective about the impact of the opportunity in front of him when he returned home to the Toronto area after last season. He said he heard stories about where people were when they were watching the 4 Nations final.

"I have high school buddies who were videoing themselves sitting on the couch with hockey gloves on and helmets on drinking beers, and that's their celebration," Binnington said. "I've watched it a hundred times."

Now imagine what they'll say, the videos they'll make, the stories they'll tell if he plays for gold in Italy?

"I lived for those moments," Brodeur said. "I loved playing for my team, but stepping out of the bubble of New Jersey was awesome for me. I couldn't wait to go there. I think he has that same attitude. Just by the way he performed at 4 Nations I think he's wired the same way."

Binnington's focus is on starting this season the way he finished last season, when he played in 17 of the Blues' 26 games after the 4 Nations, going 13-3-1 with a 2.23 goals-against average and .910 save percentage, lifting them into the playoffs.

He had a .901 save percentage and 2.53 GAA in the playoffs, helping St. Louis push the Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets to seven games in the Western Conference First Round before being eliminated.

"I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a carryover of confidence, momentum, feel, belief (from the 4 Nations)," Binnington said. "This is the life of an athlete. Things came together nicely and just have to stay with it."

There's no guarantee Binnington will get his Olympic chance, a point his own general manager, Doug Armstrong made abundantly clear at the Olympic Orientation Camp.

"I think everyone knows I have a soft spot for Jordan Binnington," said Armstrong, the Blues GM who is serving in the same capacity for Canada's Olympic team. "You know, 2019 in my day job doesn't happen without him, and the 4 Nations, what he did in the overtime and to get us to the overtime. But ultimately (goaltending) is probably the most open competition on our group right now."

Sam Montembeault of the Montreal Canadiens and Adin Hill of the Vegas Golden Knights were also invited to the Olympic camp. They were Binnington's backups at the 4 Nations. They're sure to push Binnington for the No. 1 job in Italy.

The hope is that Logan Thompson of the Washington Capitals, Darcy Kuemper of the Los Angeles Kings, Mackenzie Blackwood of the Colorado Avalanche, Stuart Skinner of the Edmonton Oilers, and maybe even his own backup in St. Louis, Joel Hofer, will too.

But it's Binnington's net to lose, and Brodeur would be surprised if that happened.

He said Binnington reminds him of himself, Luongo and Price because of his confidence, his belief in himself and his abilities, and for how he rises in the big moments, like the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, the 4 Nations Face-Off, and perhaps soon the Olympics.

"All of us, we just wanted to play, we just wanted to have those moments," Brodeur said. "Sometimes it's going to work, sometimes it's not going to work, but his confidence level is as high as we had when we played in those games.

"He just thinks he's that good, so he doesn't fear the moments."