"Do I look nervous?" Binnington said.
"No," the reporter said.
"There's your answer," Binnington said.
That quote is now on T-shirts in St. Louis.
"That quote's obviously funny, but it does sum up (everything)," Pietrangelo said. "Every day, he just shows up, does what he has to do and is pretty quiet. But I guess, for us, it's enjoyable when he says stuff like that, because we get a kick out of it."
Binnington is 25 years old. He spent 5 ½ seasons in the minors preparing for this opportunity. He finished the regular season 24-5-1 with a 1.89 goals-against average and .927 save percentage for the Blues, who climbed from last place in the League to third in the Central Division. Eventually he moved out of The Cheshire hotel into a more fitting place.
"I think I'd call it an extended stay," Binnington said.
Binnington's numbers haven't been as good in the playoffs. He's 12-7 with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. But in the first round, the Blues defeated the Winnipeg Jets, who had a former Vezina finalist in Connor Hellebuyck; in the second round, they defeated the Dallas Stars, who had a Vezina finalist in Ben Bishop; and in the Western Conference Final, they defeated the San Jose Sharks, who had Martin Jones on top of his game.
"It'd be disingenuous to say that this was all part of the master plan, bring him in in January and be here today," general manager Doug Armstrong said. "But what he did do is, he never quit on himself, and that's what I take away."
When the Blues sent Binnington to Providence as a fourth-stringer, Armstrong said: "He just said, 'OK, we'll see.' At the of the day, he went up here. He made the best of it. And so I would just say, what's the most impressive (part) for me is his belief in himself and how that's transferred to obviously where we are today."
Binnington said a couple of cousins have bought "Do I look nervous?" T-shirts, but he doesn't have one himself. Maybe he's waiting for another kind of souvenir.
"I love how people are having fun with it," Binnington said. "People think they know me and stuff. It's pretty cool to see. I'm enjoying this whole experience, and the season's been a lot of fun. At the same time, one more series to focus on. Then we can talk."
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Listen: Stanley Cup Final preview episode of NHL Fantasy on Ice podcast