Jordan Binnington Announced As Starting Goalie For Team Canada

Jon Cooper, head coach of Team Canada, announced Tuesday morning that Jordan Binnington will be Canada's starting goalie against Sweden on Wednesday night.

So far this season, Binnington has posted a 15-19-4 record with a 2.89 GAA, .896 save%, and three shutouts for St. Louis.

Binnington seemed the obvious choice for Cooper out of the three goaltenders Canada has. Between Binnington, Adin Hill, and Sam Montembeault, the St. Louis netminder has played the longest in the NHL and has a Stanley Cup championship under his belt.

Vegas' goaltender Adin Hill also has a Stanley Cup ring, but Binnington's consistency and longevity are what won Cooper over.

According to NHL.com, Cooper said, “He’s had some huge moments in big games. He’s a competitor, not that the other guys aren’t, he’s got a fire in his belly.”

Also from NHL.com, Canadian defenseman and St. Louis Blues teammate Colton Parayko said, "As far as Jordan, it’s been a pleasure to play with him for numerous years and he’s a true gamer and comes to play when he’s on the ice."

So, with Binnington set to start, one question remains: Did Canada leave its best goalie off the roster?

For those unaware, Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson was not chosen as a goaltender for Team Canada despite his 24-2-5 record, which is fourth-best in the NHL. Thompson also ranks second this season in save percentage and third for goals against among qualified goaltenders. So, why was he left off Canada's roster?

To understand why, we need to go back to when Thompson was playing for the Vegas Golden Knights. During his four-year stint with Vegas, he was coached by Pete Deboer for his first two seasons and Bruce Cassidy for his last two.

Fast forward to 2025: Both Pete Deboer and Bruce Cassidy, now assistant coaches for Team Canada, chose not to recommend Thompson to Cooper.

Chris Cerullo of RMNB reported that former Rangers goalie and current TV analyst for the New York Rangers Steve Valiquette revealed there were issues between the netminder and the two coaches.

“They didn’t have a great experience with him in Vegas. There were times that they wanted him to play, and he wasn’t available," said Valiquette. "Yeah, I know a little bit about what happened there, and I can’t get into it, but that was never going to happen.”

Sportsnet asked Thompson about the situation and he said, "They never reached out to me and that didn't upset me. It didn't surprise me when I was left off the team."

Time will tell whether leaving Thompson off the team was a mistake.

You can catch the opening game of the Four-Nations tournament tomorrow at 8 PM EST between Team Canada and Team Sweden on TNT, TruTV, and MAX.