The St. Louis Blues have returned goaltender Joel Hofer to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, according to a team release Monday.
Per the team, this was a planned transaction in order for Springfield to have Hofer in the fold as the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs begin. Springfield, which currently sits fourth in the Atlantic Division, has nine games remaining on their regular-season schedule.
Hofer earned an extended look in the big leagues after an impressive performance during an emergency recall earlier in the month, necessitated by a two-game suspension for starter Jordan Binnington. The 2018 fourth-round pick recorded a .915 save percentage in five appearances, going 3-0-1.
His status as a quickly-rising prospect was bolstered by last year’s playoff run in Springfield, where he helped guide them to the Calder Cup Final with a .934 save percentage in 10 playoff games. His hot play has continued this season, posting a .920 save percentage and four shutouts in 40 games with Springfield.
With backup Thomas Greiss slated for unrestricted free agency this summer, expect Hofer to take over the backup role full-time starting next year.
As a Wings fan this kid has talent, more than JB currently has.
Binnington is a Stanley Cup winning goalie. Enough said.
The team makes the goalie sometimes, what’s he done since ? Terrible numbers ever since then.
Jacques Plante is a Stanley Cup winning goalie too, and no one’s proposing putting him in net. (Oh, wait. He’s dead.)
With that, goalies go on freak runs where they’re unstoppable. Jim Carey. Andrew Hammond. Brian Boucher. We could name names until the cows come home … and absolutely names of goalies who did that and never did anything ever again. Binnington was lights-out in 2019, a good goalie in 2020 and 2021, mediocre last year, and downright terrible this year.
There is nothing about a strip of metal on his finger that’s going to magically make him a great goalie again. It’s not like that strip of metal’s making him a great goalie NOW, is it?
And the fact that this kid can have better numbers with 25% of the cap hit of JB, it’s a no brainer.
Hofer is the future.