Trade Speculation Surrounds Blues’ Binnington and Blue Jackets’ Jiricek
The slow start by the St. Louis Blues has led to growing speculation about potential trades as the team looks to retool.
James Murphy of RG.org pointed to a former Blues source suggesting that goaltender Jordan Binnington might request a trade. The 31-year-old is under contract through 2026-27 with an average annual value of $6 million, and he has a no-trade list that includes 18 teams for this season.
Murphy speculated that if the Blues are still struggling by the American Thanksgiving weekend next week, GM Doug Armstrong could start looking to sell off assets. He mentioned the Carolina Hurricanes as a possible landing spot for Binnington, especially given starter Frederik Andersen’s current injury and backup Pyotr Kochetkov’s recent injury woes.
However, there’s no indication that Armstrong is considering a trade involving Binnington, and the goaltender hasn’t publicly shown any desire to leave St. Louis. Even if Binnington were to be placed on the trade block, the Hurricanes would face challenges due to their lack of cap space, even if the Blues retained part of Binnington’s salary, assuming he’d be willing to waive his no-trade clause for Carolina.
Meanwhile, in Columbus, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that GM Don Waddell is working to address the situation of defenseman David Jiricek.
Lost in a forgettable night for #stlblues, Jordan Binnington came up with a save of the year candidate: https://t.co/pqobYx4WvZ
— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) November 10, 2024
The 20-year-old Jiricek, who was selected sixth overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2022 draft, has played just six games this season, recording one assist. Last season, he spent significant time in the AHL with Cleveland after being sent down in January, a move that caused frustration for Jiricek and led to trade rumors. At the time, Waddell was not yet the GM, so he wasn’t involved in that situation. However, the ongoing uncertainty around Jiricek’s future has fueled further trade speculation, with The Hockey News’ Spencer Lazary suggesting that the young defenseman could be on the move.
Jiricek has one year remaining on his entry-level contract after this season and will be a restricted free agent in 2026.
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