James Reimer has signed a five-year deal with the Florida Panthers.
The netminder was traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the San Jose Sharks prior to the trade deadline. The 28-year-old was excellent with the Sharks, posting a 1.62 goals-against average and .938 save percentage in eight appearances. Overall, Reimer went 17-14-7 with a 2.31GAA, .922 save percentage and three shutouts in 40 games split between the Sharks and Leafs.
Reimer is now the second backup goalie the Panthers have added in the last week. They acquired Reto Berra from the Avalanche a day before the 2016 NHL Draft for forward Rocco Grimaldi.
“I’m just hoping I can do my part and make sure that we win,” Reimer told reporters in Florida Friday.
Reimer was sellected 99th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2006. He is 91-78-23 with a 2.79GAA, .914 save percentage and 14 shutouts in in 215 NHL regular season games. Reimer has little playoff experience. In 2013 he started every post-season contest for the Maple Leafs in a heartbreaking seven-game series loss to the Bruins. He had a .921 save percentage in that series.