ST. LOUIS \u2014 Like a lot of NHL players who come to work in the same building that hosts concerts and stand-up comics, St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington has met his share of celebrities.<\/p>\n
Few compare to Adam Sandler, who Binnington presented with a stick and a jersey when he stopped in St. Louis for a show Friday.<\/p>\n
Though the goalie is certainly a fan of Sandler\u2019s schtick on the big screen, including the hockey-themed \u201cHappy Gilmore,\u201d there was another aspect of the actor\u2019s life that interested him more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most impressive thing with him is how he has the successful career and he\u2019s a strong family man,\u201d Binnington said. \u201cThat\u2019s where I\u2019m at, so to see the background of the work there and the family dynamic, I definitely find those interactions to be inspiring personally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sandler has been married to his wife, Jackie, since 2003, and they have two daughters: Sadie (19) and Sunny (16), who recently appeared in \u201cHappy Gilmore 2\u201d with their father.<\/p>\n
Johnny Binnington, the son of Jordan and his wife, Cristine Prosperi-Binnington, celebrated his first birthday in July, so he\u2019s not quite ready to put on the pads and join Dad in the NHL. Still, the netminder said having a family has been a game-changer.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife has simplified in ways,\u201d Binnington said. \u201cFamily time, work time, prep time. We wrestle around a little bit, and those are times where there\u2019s more intention and quality in mind. It\u2019s such an amazing feeling hanging out with your kid and then coming to work, and now he\u2019s coming to games, and he\u2019s super excited. I\u2019m enjoying it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grown Ups 3? pic.twitter.com\/RWV9LcwEOk<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) October 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to believe, but it\u2019s been 14 years since Binnington was selected in the third round of the 2011 NHL Draft and six years since he burst onto the scene in St. Louis and won a Stanley Cup in 2019.<\/p>\n He\u2019s now 32 years old,\u00a0making him the fifth-oldest player on the Blues\u2019 roster.<\/p>\n \u201cBinner\u2019s getting up there! I think I started seeing some gray hairs,\u201d longtime teammate Oskar Sundqvist said, laughing. \u201cBut no, from when I met him the first time until now, he\u2019s grown so much individually with his wife and son. You can see a difference in him from before Johnny and after Johnny. He\u2019s talked to me about it, how even if he has a bad game, that game is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a dad now, so he\u2019s got more responsibilities outside the rink,\u201d Joel Hofer, Binnington\u2019s goalie partner of the past three seasons, said. \u201cI think he enjoys that, and I don\u2019t want to say that he likes the challenge of it, but he definitely seems excited. He stays in the moment really well. He stays committed to his craft and doesn\u2019t let a bad game dictate that, or let it go off track.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s been an example of that already this season.<\/p>\n In the Blues\u2019 regular-season opener, Binnington gave up five goals on 21 shots in a 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Though the five goals against weren\u2019t all on him, he was the first one on the ice for the team\u2019s practice the next day. In two starts since, he\u2019s 2-0 with 42 saves on 45 shots (.933 save percentage), including 18 in a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mindset is to continue to build every day,\u201d Binnington said. \u201cThat\u2019s an everyday process, and I\u2019m enjoying the process right now. It\u2019s fun to be in a team environment and building that camaraderie. That\u2019s what I want to be around, that winning attitude and culture, and just playing hard for each other. That\u2019s what I\u2019m playing for.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the Binnington characteristic that sticks out the most to Blues coach Jim Montgomery, who spent time with two of the all-time greats, Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy.<\/p>\n \u201c(Binnington) is probably the most like Brodeur,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cBrodeur was recognized as a really good teammate with great leadership, and Binnington has those same traits: his feel for where our team is at and how we\u2019re playing. If I want to get someone\u2019s opinion who\u2019s not wearing a letter, I\u2019m going to him or (Cam) Fowler.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s nice,\u201d Binnington said of Montgomery\u2019s compliment. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to be true to myself, and whatever that is and whatever I feel, I\u2019m going to say.\u201d<\/p>\n Binnington couldn\u2019t express himself, though, if he didn\u2019t have the experience he does.<\/p>\n He\u2019s played in 340 regular-season games, which is the second most in Blues history behind Mike Liut (347). He\u2019s one of only 72 goalies in the history of the game who have played as many regular-season games with one organization, and he\u2019s just one of 32 on that list who have won at least one Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of those moments where you\u2019re telling me that and it\u2019s pretty special, especially with one organization,\u201d Binnington said. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful and honored to play that many games in the NHL, and hopefully there\u2019s many more to come.\u201d<\/p>\n To play more, Binnington has to continue taking care of himself.<\/p>\n Recently, Montgomery announced that the starting assignments for the Blues\u2019 goalie tandem will be more of a split than they were in the past two seasons. In 2023-24, Binnington started 55 games and Hofer 27. In 2024-25, Binnington started 54 and Hofer 28.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at Binner\u2019s career, the more games he\u2019s played, it\u2019s just harder on the body,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cBeing in the West, you switch time zones a lot more than you do in the East. If you look at the goalies who played a lot, Brodeur, he was in the East. (The Boston Bruins\u2019) Tuukka Rask, he was in the East. (The Tampa Bay Lightning\u2019s) Andrei Vasilevskiy, he\u2019s in the East.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s part of Binnington\u2019s three-pronged plan: family time, work time, prep time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just goes into the added recovery time and preparation,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s quality over quantity and knowing yourself. That\u2019s the beautiful part of gaining experience in the league and knowing what you\u2019re preparing for every time you\u2019re in there for a game. It\u2019s just continuing to evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n Binnington plans to reach out to Brodeur, who played the most games of any goalie in NHL history (1,266), to learn more about his preparation later in his career.<\/p>\n \u201cAs more time goes by, the more respect I have for a guy like Marty, how he maintained such a high level for so long,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom the outside in, he really figured out what worked for him. It\u2019s something that I\u2019d like to have conversations in the future about \u2014 just to get some wisdom from such a highly respected goaltender. I have Mike Liut (Binnington\u2019s agent), too. It\u2019s nice to have resources like that.\u201d<\/p>\n dontcha just gLOVE to see it? pic.twitter.com\/wO6zpArpGK<\/a><\/p>\n