BOSTON — Before goaltender Jordan Binnington became the force that would propel his team to its first Stanley Cup finals appearance since 1970, he had to fight for himself. The St. Louis Blues didn’t have their own American Hockey League affiliate for the 2017-18 season, forced to share with the Colorado Avalanche, so after the Blues settled on prospect Ville Husso to get the one AHL spot in net available, they planned to have Binnington in the ECHL, a lower league.
Binnington refused, believing he was better than that, even if St.