Why Trading For Jordan Binnington Doesn’t Fit For Habs

On Tuesday, there were rumours that came from the DailyFaceoff Podcast that the St. Louis Blues have put Canada’s starting goaltender Jordan Binnington on the trade market, where they mentioned the Montreal Canadiens as a potential landing spot for the veteran netminder. However, given his stats in the NHL this season, it wouldn’t make much sense, as he would just be a sideways move for Samuel Montembeault with both goaltenders having their struggles this season. With the way Binnington has been playing at the NHL level, the Canadiens would end up paying almost double the money they pay Montembeault already for the same inconsistent production.

Would Jordan Binnington be a fit for Montreal?

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— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 24, 2026

The main reason the Canadiens would be in the market for a goaltender is that Montembeault has been extremely inconsistent all season. However, when Binnington plays for the Blues, it is much of the same as he has cost his team on multiple occasions this year, which has resulted in him losing his starting job to Joel Hofer, similarly to how Montembeault lost his net to Jakub Dobes on two occasions this season.

Binnington’s one advantage over Montembeault is that he has a history of coming up clutch in big games, but otherwise, his play is really no better than Montembeault’s for an average game. In fact, since the Christmas break (the end of the initial struggle to start the year), Montembeault has been the much better goaltender with a .901 save percentage and 2.84 GAA alongside his 5-2-1 record in 8 games. Those numbers are good for around league average goaltending from Montembeault.

As good as Binnington has been for Canada, at the NHL level he has struggled more than Montembeault.
Since December 27th:
Montembeault: .901 save percentage, 2.84 GAA and 5-2-1 record.
Binnington: .851 save percentage, 4.15 GAA and 1-8-0 record. https://t.co/Cj6KWeK1la

— Nick (@NickL2500) February 25, 2026

Meanwhile, Binnington has been abysmal with an .851 save percentage and 4.15 GAA in 9 games where he had a 1-8 record. There is no doubt that Binnington could use a change of scenery, as things in St. Louis are not going very well, but based on his play outside the Olympics, he is just too much of a risk for any NHL team to trade for at his current cap hit.

On the Daily Faceoff Podcast, they mentioned that the Habs should trade Montembeault and a 1st round pick for Binnington, which, given their current stats, would be a terrible deal for the Canadiens. Binnington has proven to be much riskier than Montembeault this season, which is why taking on salary when the Habs are already low on cap space as it is would make no sense to get equal production at the very best and for the same length of contract.

Please do not tell me the Binnington/Habs whispers are anything more than whispers. pic.twitter.com/Wbjl9XQ5u3

— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) February 24, 2026

This type of move is a panic move that carries a lot of risk if Binnington doesn’t perform to a similar level that he did during the Olympics, because not only would the Habs have an overpaid goaltender for the next year after the deal, but they would also lose a 1st round pick to make it happen. If the Habs are to trade a 1st round pick, it should be for a piece that can be part of the Habs when the Stanley Cup window starts opening up during the 2027-28 season, not a risk factor that would really only be for the now.

We can give the guys on the podcast credit that Binnington can bring the clutch factor, but there is a risk involved for a team that isn’t quite in their Cup window yet on top of the goaltender maybe not even performing up to par. At the end of the day, Binnington is a good goaltender for international play and come playoff time, but the way he’s played with the Blues all season long is just not worth it for the Habs.

What are your thoughts on the fit of Jordan Binnington with the Canadiens?