Blues sign backup goaltender Thomas Greiss

The Blues have signed backup goaltender Thomas Greiss, essentially swapping him for Ville Husso. Husso will be a starter in Detroit next season while Greiss will be taking over the backup reins from Charlie Lindgren. Lindgren will be testing the open market.

Greiss is 36 years old, so the deal will be a brief one while Joel Hofer gets a bit more experience with the Springfield Thunderbirds in the AHL. Greiss’ experience as a NHL goaltender (374 GP, 2.72 GAA, .912 SV%) is beneficial when you view this situation as Doug Armstrong not wanting to put an inexperienced goalie in a situation that has been, over the last few seasons, unpredictable at best.

Greiss’ contract is for one year with a $1.25 million cap hit, per CapFriendly.com.

Greiss will be expected to support Jordan Binnington, however that will look. Last season, Greiss’ 10-15-1 record, 3.66 GAA, and .891 SV% was mostly a product of playing behind a porous Detroit defense. Don’t expect Greiss to be able to step in and completely backstop the Blues should Jordan Binnington have injuries or other issues. He hasn’t carried a starter’s load since 2016-2017 with the New York Islanders.