James Guillory-Imagn Images
The sputtering start by the St. Louis Blues has raised recent speculation over possible moves by the retooling club.
RG.org’s James Murphy cited a former Blues source claiming they wouldn’t be surprised if Jordan Binnington sought a trade. The 31-year-old goaltender is signed through 2026-27 with an average annual value of $6 million and an 18-team no-trade list for this season.
Murphy speculates that Blues GM Doug Armstrong could become a seller if his club is in another losing skid by the American Thanksgiving weekend next week. He suggested the Carolina Hurricanes as a potential destination, pointing out that starter Frederik Andersen is sidelined again while backup Pyotr Kochetkov has been banged up recently.
There’s no indication Armstrong is planning any moves involving Binnington nor has the netminder publicly signalled that he wants out of St. Louis. If he does hit the trade block, the Hurricanes lack sufficient cap space to take on his contract even if the Blues were to retain half of it, assuming he’d be OK with a trade to Carolina.
Turning to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday that GM Don Waddell is trying to sort out defenseman David Jiricek’s situation.
The 20-year-old Jiricek was selected sixth overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2022 draft. He hasn’t played much this season, appearing in just six games and recording an assist. He was the odd man out last season, resulting in his demotion to their Jackets’ AHL affiliate in Cleveland last January.
Jiricek expressed his frustration over the move at the time, sparking some trade speculation. Waddell wasn’t the GM at the time and wasn’t involved in any of that drama. Nevertheless, the conjecture over Jiricek’s future prompted The Hockey News’ Spencer Lazary to suggest the young blueliner could become a trade candidate.
Jiricek has one year left on his entry-level contract after this season and will become an RFA in 2026.
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