Editor’s note: On Saturday, Jordan Binnington pulled within one win of Mike Liut for the most wins by a goaltender in St. Louis Blues history. On Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild, Binnington has his first chance to tie the record. Ahead of the game, The Athletic asked Liut for his perspective on what Binnington’s achievement will mean.
On Feb. 21, 1985, I received a phone call at 6 a.m., while asleep in a Buffalo hotel.
When you’re a professional athlete, a 6 a.m. call is never a good thing. It was Jacques Demers calling to tell me I was traded to the Hartford Whalers — the last-place, out-of-the-playoffs Hartford Whalers.
With the trade comes a rush of emotion, confusion and questions that have no immediate answers. My wife, Mary Ann, who grew up an hour east of St. Louis, had delivered our second child on Jan. 14; we were on the road, and I would not be returning home anytime soon. And my roommate was no longer a teammate.
I was not thinking about the Blues career wins mark or that I would not be adding to it. I cannot recall ever realizing I had the record. I was thinking, Jacques went to sleep with the knowledge that he had to deliver the news the next morning. Making the 6 a.m. call is never a good thing, either.
By circumstance, almost 40 years later, the record for…
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