Binnington, Hill appear set to make Canada's 4 Nations team; Daccord's status unclear
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With less than a week left to finalize the roster, Team Canada appears to be set to name goaltenders Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill to its 4 Nations Face-Off team, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports.
The third goaltender on the roster, who LeBrun notes will have a chance to compete for starts at the tournament, has not yet been decided upon.
"It sounds like there are two goalies where there's consensus among the Team Canada management and coaching staff and that's Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill - who are Stanley Cup champions, their body of work very much important here, perhaps more so than their up-and-down season so far," LeBrun said Tuesday on Insider Trading. "So, they would be pencilled in right now as two of the three - I say pencilled in. Still a week to go before they announce these rosters.
"But as for the third spot among the goalies, still a lot of debate internally of who that might be. [Logan] Thompson. [Stuart] Skinner. [Sam] Montembeault. [Cam] Talbot. And the thing is, this isn't a No. 3 job. When they announce these three goalies next week, it will be made clear to everyone this is a wide-open competition right to February. Any of the three goalies could be the No. 1 starter."
Binnington has a 6-9-1 record with the St. Louis Blues this season with a .891 save percentage and a 3.04 goals-against average. The 31-year-old went 28-21-5 last season with a .913 save percentage and a 2.84 GAA and remains well-known for his success in the 2019 playoffs, going 16-10 in his first-ever postseason with a .914 save percentage to backstop the Blues to the Stanley Cup.
Hill, 28, is off to a 9-4-1 start with the Vegas Golden Knights, posting a .887 save percentage and a 2.99 GAA. He went 19-12-2 last season with a .909 save percentage and a 2.71 GAA after helping Vegas win the Stanley Cup in 2023 with an 11-4 postseason record with a .932 save percentage and a 2.17 GAA.
Thompson, who shared the net with Hill in Vegas last season, has a 11-9-1 record with the Washington Capitals this season with a .917 save percentage and a 2.44 GAA.
Skinner, who backstopped the Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final last spring, is 7-6-2 this season with a .882 save percentage and a 3.23 GAA.
Montembeault has a 6-9-1 record with the Montreal Canadiens this season, owning a .899 save percentage and a 3.06 GAA.
Skinner is the youngest of that group at 26 years old, with Thompson 27 and Montembeault 28. Talbot is Canada's most veteran option listed by LeBrun at 37 years old.
Talbot has a 5-4-2 record with the Detroit Red Wings this season with an impressive .921 save percentage and a 2.62 GAA. A veteran of 498 career games, he went 27-20-6 with the Los Angeles Kings last season, posting a .913 save percentage and a 2.50 GAA.
The Caledonia, Ont. native has only represented Canada once in his career, backstopping his country to gold at the 2016 World Hockey Championship.
Daccord's availability in question
Rosters for the tournament are due to be submitted on Dec. 2 and will be revealed two days later, but it appears Canada is still waiting to find out if Seattle Kraken netminder Joey Daccord is among their options in goal.
Daccord, a Boston native with dual citizenship, has a 10-4-1 record this season with a sparkling .922 save percentage and a 2.28 GAA.
"Hockey Canada is still doing its due diligence on that matter. And as of Tuesday, they did not have a 100 per cent answer on that," LeBrun explained. "Joey Daccord - born and raised in Boston. His dad - from Montreal. His mom - from Switzerland. In fact, Switzerland asked Daccord to play for them at the World Championship last year, but he didn't go. He hasn't played for anyone internationally, so it's a clean slate.
"Here's one of the stumbling blocks: I'm told from a league source he doesn't have a Canadian passport. He is a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S., but doesn't have a passport. That could be a stumbling block. Hockey Canada just trying to make sure it knows all its options. Doesn't mean necessarily it would name him the third guy - just want to know what their options are."
The 28-year-old Daccord went 19-18-11 with the Kraken last season with a .916 save percentage and a 2.46 GAA. He was rewarded in the off-season with a five-year, $25 million contract extension, which will kick in next season.