With the St. Louis Blues missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the team had their end-of-season media sessions at Centene Community Ice Center last weekend.
Players shared their thoughts on the season – both from an individual perspective and a team context – to evaluate ways they succeeded and ways they can improve for next season.
For Jordan Binnington and Robert Thomas, the sting of missing the postseason for the first time in their NHL careers represented an opportunity above all else. While there was a desire shown across the roster to return to the playoffs, Binnington and Thomas spoke uniquely about the way they viewed a disappointing season.
“Sometimes struggling is fun, because then you got to find a way through it,” said Binnington. “That feeling of achievement is one that you earn, it’s special and that’s what you remember.”
The 29-year-old goaltender started a career-high 60 games this year, winning 27 games and posting two shutouts as he climbs the franchise all-time leaderboard in his fifth full season.
Binnington and Thomas were both rookies when the Blues won the 2018-19 Stanley Cup, immediately acclimating the two to winning in a way that few NHL players experience in their whole careers.
“You learn a lot winning, and you learn even more when you lose,” said Thomas. “If you don’t learn, then you’re not going to be able to grow, get better and be more successful – I think that’s my biggest takeaway from the year.”
Thomas has already shown progression in the early seasons of his NHL career, more than doubling his scoring rate from 2018-19 and leading the team in assists for the second straight year.
With a learning mindset eager to take a new perspective under consideration, Binnington, Thomas and the rest of the roster are excited to step up to the challenge.
