Way back in a simpler time, in July of 2018, I wrote an article for Blues Buzz Blog (not a plug, not an endorsement) titled “The Case For Ville Husso”. My point was: “Hey, instead of rolling with streaky Jake Allen and weak backup Chad Johnson as a tandem, let’s toss some games Husso’s way, because he has had success at every level he’s played at.” Blues fans will remember what goaltender eventually got the nod in January of 2019 when the goaltending situation came to a head; Jordan Binnington is now under contract for 5 more seasons at $6 million per largely due to his play down the stretch that year. But Binnington only passed Husso in the depth chart because Husso was hurt at the time. The Blues are at a crossroads, and there is one clear path forward. Even though Jordan will forever be a St. Louis legend for bringing the city its first and only Stanley Cup, and even though I still believe he can still steal a game occasionally, it’s time Ville Husso took his rightful place at the helm of the St. Louis Blues.
In the article from 2018, which I’ll link below for reference, I compared Husso to several other European goaltenders that took a similar path to North America and had begun to show success in the league. The three comps I used were Juuse Saros, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Linus Ullmark. Ullmark has had a tough go of it in Boston this season. Husso, Saros, and Vasilevskiy sit 3rd, 4th, and 9th in goals saved above expected among qualified goalies, respectively. All three are putting up elite numbers, above guys like Connor Hellebuyck, John Gibson, reigning Vezina winner Marc-Andre Fleury, and Jordan Binnington himself, who sits 49th out 56 goaltenders with a pathetic -9.23 GSAx. But key difference between Ville Husso and his peers is that they are the solidified starters of their teams. Ville has been getting leaned on more heavily lately, but if the playoffs started tomorrow I’m not convinced he’d be in the starter’s net, especially given Berube’s track record of defaulting to Binnington as “The Guy In The Playoffs” despite the fact that Binnington hasn’t looked good in (or won!) a single playoff game since Game 7 in Boston.
My goal here is not to disparage Jordan Binnington. I truly think he has the ability to single-handedly win games, and his swagger and fire add an element to the Blues that undeniably inspires the team to win games. I’m not a huge “heart and soul” guy in general, but it’s a fact that teams rally around that kind of stuff, and it’s also a fact that Binnington brings that to the table. On the other hand, he’s just flat out getting outplayed by Ville Husso right now—and the crazy thing is, Binnington could have a completely inverse season, flipping that -9.23 GSAx into a positive 9.23 GSAx (which would put him just below Vasilevskiy for 10th in the league), and Husso would STILL be crushing him with a whopping 17.28 GSAx, despite playing only 20 games. Point being: Binnington having a bad year is not the reason that Ville Husso should be starting. Ville Husso should be starting because he’s an elite goaltender, and riding him to the finish gives St. Louis their best chance to make a deep playoff run.
There are only two goaltenders having a better season than Ville Husso (Igor Shesterkin and Frederik Andersen), and both of them are legitimately in the MVP conversation. Unloading Husso at the deadline would be a huge mistake; letting him walk in free agency would be a huge mistake; not playing him down the stretch and into the playoffs would be a huge mistake. Whatever salary cap gymnastics must be done to make sure Husso is a Blue at this time next year must be taken. He’s the goalie of the future. He’s the goalie of right now. And some of us saw this coming 4 years ago.
All stats from Evolving-Hockey.com
Link to the 2018 article: https://www.bluesbuzzblog.com/blog/the-case-for-ville-husso
Brendan Komp
@brendanperson
Neutral Zone Trap 