Report: Jordan Binnington refused demotion to the AHL

Last month St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington established a new franchise record for the most wins by a goaltender with 152.

Binnington passed Mike Liut as the team's all-time winningest goaltender, a fitting milestone for the goalie who helped deliver the franchise's first and only Stanley Cup championship back in 2019.

The thing is... Binnington's path to becoming top dawg in St. Louis hasn't always been clear. He didn't establish himself in the NHL until he was 25 years old and he had to go an an absolutely undeniable run in order to secure a regular roster spot on the team. You may recall that a rookie Binnington took the Blues by storm in 2019 helping them climb out of the basement of the NHL's standings and onto a Stanley Cup championship. Once he was given an opportunity to prove himself at the NHL level he has grabbed ahold of the team's #1 goaltending position and he hasn't relented for a moment. He's a goaltender with the utmost confidence in himself and his abilities.

And, the way Hockey Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur tells it, Binnington has always been that way.

Brodeur, of course, finished his playing career with a short stint in St. Louis during the 2014-15 season and would go on to join the team's management staff after retiring from the NHL. During his time in that role (He's now an executive with the New Jersey Devils), Brodeur had a couple run-ins with Binnington and on today's episode of the Cam & Strick podcast Brodeur told the story of how he informed Binnington that he was being demoted to the AHL. 

Binnington's reaction?

"I'm not f***ing leaving!"

Well, not exactly but Brodeur did share that Binnington informed the team that he wasn't going to be sent down to the AHL and that he was going to be sticking with the Blues.

Check it out:

Imagine saying that to your team's assistant GM. Now imagine that assistant GM is a Hockey Hall of Famer. Now imagine that that Hall of Famer is considered one of the greatest goaltenders of all time... oh, and you yourself are a goaltender. You're a 25 year old AHL/NHL tweener...

The absolute cajones on Binnington, you've gotta respect it.