Joel Hofer gets another start, but Blues say not to read too much into goalie situation
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:Jeremy Rutherford
Hofer's recent stretch of excellent play lifted him above a shaky start to the season for the Blues' goaltending.
ST. LOUIS — Joel Hofer will be the St. Louis Blues’ starting goalie against the Buffalo Sabres, marking his ninth assignment in the last 15 games. And if he plays well again, he could be back in net against the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche Wednesday.
“We’re just going to roll with the hot hand and see how it goes,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said after Sunday’s practice. “We’re going to go game by game.”
This season, the goaltending position as a whole with Hofer and Jordan Binnington has been a hole. They’ve combined for the league’s fourth-lowest save percentage at .885.
However, since late November, Hofer has been the better of the two. In his last 10 appearances, including eight starts, he’s 6-2 with two shutouts, a 1.87 goals-against average and .934 save percentage. Since Nov. 29, that save percentage is the best of any goalie in the league (eight-plus starts) and his 10.17 goals saved above expected is sixth-best.
In Binnington’s last seven appearances, all starts, he’s 2-4-1 with a 4.26 GAA and an .843 save percentage.
The Blues’ 3-2 win behind Hofer over the Nashville Predators on Saturday pulled them just one point behind the San Jose Sharks for the second wild-card in the Western Conference. So while the string of starts for the 25-year-old backup might signal a changing of the guard, Montgomery insists points are at a premium and that’s why the club is riding the hot hand.
“It’s way too much to read into that because it’s a long season,” he said. “I think for parts of last season Hofer was playing better than Binnington, and who’d we play in the playoffs? (Binnington), and he was really good. It’s way too early. It’s a long season. There’s a lot of big games ahead of us, so it’s just going to depend on how we continue to build.”
The Blues have been building under Hofer, which is a stark contrast from the start of the season. Prior to his 18-save shutout over the Utah Mammoth on Nov. 29, he made 11 appearances, including 10 starts, and went 2-5-2 with a 3.82 GAA and an .869 save percentage.
In an 8-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks Oct. 15, Hofer made an outlet pass in front of his own net and the Blackhawks’ Ilya Mikheyev buried it. In a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken Nov. 8, the Kraken’s Chandler Stephenson scored with two seconds left and the Kraken won 4-3 in overtime. In a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers Nov. 24, even when he played well enough to win, the results didn’t turn out well.
How did Hofer get through that and find the rhythm he has now? It took a lot of work in practice with Blues goalie coach David Alexander, a lot of conversations with Alexander, and even some entries into his own personal journal.
Some in the organization say the 6-foot-5, 193-pound Hofer is still learning to play with his size.
Alexander, who was hired as the Blues goaltending coach in 2017, wasn’t available to comment for this story because of a team rule prohibiting assistant coaches from doing interviews. But former Blues goalie Jake Allen, who’s now in his 13th NHL season playing with the New Jersey Devils, can speak to the situation.
“Each goalie is different, but Hof is a big kid,” said Allen, who is 6-2, 197. “The NHL game that we play now is a chaotic game, and a lot of times you get chasing the game. Hof is a big kid, and you need to let your size do a lot of work for you and then let your athletic ability take control after that. The minute you’re not allowing your size to be where it’s supposed to be — between the frame and the post — you’re already on the back foot.
“So simply (said), let the game come to Hof. He’s got the natural, athletic goalie ability already, so with each game you play, just get a little more comfortable, and it’ll shine from there.”
When things aren’t going well, the reps are important.
“Yeah, anytime you go through a stretch like that, it’s obviously tough in the moment,” Hofer said. “In terms of getting out of it, I’d say just practice habits. There’s never really enough reps that you can do, so whether it’s plays that you see a lot in games, you just hammer those. It’s really hard work, but it builds confidence.”
Alexander will find sequences in which opponents are taking advantage of the Blues and Hofer’s tendencies and have him work on those. They will mimic the goals against on the ice.
“Like the F-3 (the third forward in the offensive zone) shooting a lot, or guys coming down the wall,” Hofer said. “If you’re watching it, you wouldn’t think there’s much to it, but during a game, we see them quite often, to where we’re almost preventing anything bad to happen. Dave is good with recognizing plays we give up more often than not and we’ll just keep hammering those plays over and over.”
During practice, Joel Hofer and goalie coach David Alexander recreate game scenarios to build reps. (Jeff Curry / Imagn Images)
Allen, who has known Alexander since he was 14 years old, said what makes him one of the best goalie coaches in the league is his ability to adapt to each one of his netminders.
“So if Joel is struggling with a play, or the team is getting caught a lot, Dave will hammer out those reps with him just so he gets his footwork and his tracking,” Allen said. “That way, he’ll see it as much in practice as he does in the game, and it becomes a little more natural.”
But playing the position is obviously as much mental as physical, and Alexander can also be someone to talk through the tough times. The key, though, is not being overbearing and only offering a shoulder when asked.
“Yeah, it’s situational,” Hofer said. “There’s times where I won’t talk about that stuff for a while, and then there’s times where I’ll bring stuff up more than usual.”
Allen, of course, had those times too, and recalled how Alexander handled it.
“The thing with Dave, he understands way more within this game of hockey than just the goaltending side,” he said. “He gets it from many different fronts, and he’s just a super-smart, down-to-earth guy that understands the reality of the situations that we’re in as goalies and has different viewpoints, and sometimes you need that.
“There’s going to be times throughout your career that you’re going to hit rock bottom and you’ve got to get back up. Dave just has so many different ways to think about things that might open your eyes in a different light. He’s always there — he always did that for me, I know he’s done that for Binner, and will continue with Hof.”
But for other occasions, Hofer keeps his thoughts in a journal. He writes in a small book before or after games about areas in which he can improve, areas he has improved and how he’s feeling on particular days. As his career has progressed, he’s been more consistent about writing a note or two in each entry.
“There are times where I’m struggling and I go back to the good games and see what my mindset was going into that game,” Hofer said. “There’s just lots of things that you go through as athletes and, yeah, it’s good to express it.”
Montgomery has been impressed with Hofer’s maturity.
“It shows his work ethic, right, his commitment to preparing the right way, the work he’s put in with Coach Alexander, and just keep working on it,” Montgomery said. “Repetition, repetition gives you good preparation and that gives you confidence that you’re going to do a good job.”
The Blues know they have another netminder in Binnington who puts in just as much preparation and has the same relationship with Alexander. Recently, the club gave Hofer the start in three consecutive games, calling it a “reset” for Binnington. The Stanley Cup-winning goalie said the practices were spent with a lot of fun, competitive drills, in which he was just playing hockey.
“There’s no doubt that times have been tough,” Binnington said after a 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Rangers Dec. 18 in which he made 29 saves. “I’ve been through tough times before, and if I stopped working, I would’ve missed out on some great moments. So I know that I’ve got to keep working and keep fighting. I’ve got to focus on my job, which is stopping the puck, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Jordan Binnington earned praise from his coach for his play in an overtime loss to the Rangers. (Jeff Curry / Imagn Images)
Montgomery said Binnington was “excellent” against the Rangers, and “the only reason it’s 1-1 (going into OT) was because of Binner.” But in the Blues’ next game, Hofer made 27 saves in an impressive 6-2 win over the back-to-back Stanley Cup champ Florida Panthers.
“You look at the game in Florida, they’ve rimmed 80 percent of their entries into the (offensive) zone and he was knocking them down, and it created a ton of success for us,” Blues center Robert Thomas said. “When he’s feeling confident and doesn’t let things bother him, you can see it.”
In the Blues’ next game, while it wasn’t all on Binnington’s shoulders, he gave up four goals on 17 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. That dropped his record to 7-9-6 this season with a 3.44 GAA and .870 save percentage — both career worsts.
Could the pressure of being named to Canada’s 2026 Olympic team and earning the starting job have put added weight on Binnington this season?
“The natural competitor that he is, he wants to be there,” Montgomery said. “I mean, he led Canada to the 4 Nations (Face-Off gold medal) last year. Knowing Jon Cooper (who coached the country’s 4 Nations team and will be its Olympic coach), it’s probably hard to go against him right now because you won with him. He’s got to go earn it when he gets there, and playing well before he gets there is a huge part of it, so yeah, sure it is.”
The Blues need to win games, however, and for now they’re going with Hofer.
“You’ve got to communicate to (Binnington) and David Alexander does a great job of it,” Montgomery said. “(Alexander) and I talk all the time, and sometimes we have different opinions on how it should work. His reasoning is usually better than mine. Mine is just stop the godd—ed puck, but he’s got like a lot more science and technical advice on it, so I usually just listen to him. But sometimes, it’s very rare, but I’ll stick to my gut.”
Six years ago, it was Binnington taking starts away from Allen, and the way Allen responded — professionally and with a hard-work approach — is what still has him playing in the league. He believes Binnington, who has one more season left on his contract ($6 million AAV), will react “just fine.”
“Binner is Binner, he’s a competitor, as we all know,” Allen said. “But he’s also matured a ton in the last five or six years. He understands the situation, the business, and the perspective on the whole thing. He knows that he’s still a great goalie. He’s still widely regarded in the league among the players, and is still one of the best big-game goalies.
“But goaltending, it’s a lot about momentum, and you’ve got to ride the momentum. We saw that momentum in 2019 with Binner; it’s just the nature of the game. But I wouldn’t be too worried about Binner. He’s a Blue through and through and he’s going to do what’s best for the team. But you’ve got to give credit to Joel. He looks like a real talent.”
Joel Hofer’s play this season has earned praise from his teammates and captain as he comes into his own as an NHL goalie. (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
Another member of that 2019 Cup team was asked if Hofer is coming into his own.
“The simple answer, yes, and I’m not really surprised by it,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “He was with us when he was 19 or 20 years old, and you could just see how big he was, and how well he plays the puck. But what people don’t see is how much he works off the ice and with the mental side of the game. I think, not to put a lot of pressure on the guy, but he’s going to be a very, very good goalie in this league for a long time. (But) this game is not easy, and it humbles you at different times.”
Remember when Hofer served up a turnover in front of his net against Chicago? Well, Saturday against Nashville, he served up another turnover in front of the net and Steven Stamkos scored. But the Blues challenged offside on the play and were successful, so Hofer was off the hook. And remember when the Blues gave up a goal with two seconds left against Seattle, and the Kraken won in OT? Against Nashville, Luke Evangelista had a shot from the slot with two seconds left and Hofer made the save.
When things are going right, they’re going right, and when they aren’t, they aren’t.
“Yeah, exactly, and the process is everything,” Hofer said. “You’re always trying to push the needle and get better and that goes for everybody in here. You’re never satisfied because when you are satisfied, that’s when the league bites you.”
