Let’s talk about James Reimer.
For a while now, it has looked like Reimer will be the biggest name among free agent goalies this summer. That’s got to be great for James, right? When you’re the best available, you get the most money, the situation you want, and life is Transformers and rainbows.
Well…
We had Tom Poraszka from the famed cap site GeneralFanager.com on the most recent Steve Dangle Podcast and he mentioned something that I’ve been thinking about for a few weeks now: Reimer is in a bit of a pickle.
Being the best free agent goalie available is great but it doesn’t quite mean as much when there isn’t really a fit out there. Many seem to think that the Calgary Flames are a foregone conclusion, but what if they’re not?
When we look around the league, we quickly start to see why Reimer might not get the payday that big-name free agents usually do. Here’s a look at each team’s goalie situation.
Anaheim Ducks
This is actually a great fit for James. John Gibson is the starter after the Frederik Andersen deal but he’s young and has a career-high of 40 games played. Reimer could be a steady and relatively affordable 1B goalie there, if the coach decides that’s wha– wait, they hired Randy Carlyle. Next.
Arizona Coyotes
I assume they’ll re-sign Louis Domingue, and Mike Smith is there until the end of time. It’s a possibility but not a strong one.
Boston Bruins
This is interesting. They have Tuukka Rask locked up forever but no backup signed for next season — unless that backup is Malcolm Subban. This isn’t ideal for either party, really. Reimer would be a true backup, Subban is their future there unless he’s traded. Hard to see it happening. Plus memories, y’know?
Buffalo Sabres
This actually makes decent sense to me. You’ve got Robin Lehner signed for next season only. Linus Ullmark was OK in his short stint with the Sabres this past season. If they want to give Ullmark more time to develop, Reimer could be a short-deal 1B to fill the gap and push Lehner to be better. Not a slam dunk, but I could see it working.
Calgary Flames
This is Reimer’s best chance at a good payday and a guaranteed starting job. The Flames have lots of RFAs but lots of room to sign them. Plus, Joni Ortio is pretty much their only goalie left and he’s an RFA. There have been whispers of Marc-Andre Fleury and Ben Bishop to Calgary but those guys would have to come over via trade. Do you want to spend assets to get a more proven starter or do you want to lock up the best free agent goalie on the market because you give up nothing but cap space?
Heck, the Flames could sign Reimer along with a veteran backup looking to play more games like Jhonas Enroth, let Ortio walk or try to convince him to be your third guy again. There’s a decent goalie trio.
Carolina Hurricanes
Eddie Lack put up a bad .901 save percentage while Cam Ward put up a slightly not-as-bad .909 for Carolina last season, so naturally the decision that made the most sense was to re-sign Ward to a multi-year deal to keep that exact same tandem in place for two more years.
Seriously… why?
Chicago Blackhawks
Corey Crawford is locked up forever, Scott is on a Darling of a deal (man, I’m clever). No fit.
Colorado Avalanche
If the Avs end up dealing Semyon Varlamov, then this makes some sense. Otherwise, there’s no fit. Calvin Pickard looks like an NHL goalie.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Sergei Bobrovsky is on the case and Joonas Korpisalo looks like he could be a good NHL goalie long-term. No fit.
Dallas Stars
I’m sure the Stars would kill to have Reimer as their starting goalie, but they’re spending $10.4 million on Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen for the next two seasons. Unless they buy out one (or both) or by some miracle trade them, I don’t see how this would work.
Detroit Red Wings
There could be something here. There have been a few rumours of Detroit trying to unload one of Jimmy Howard or Petr Mrazek, and if that is the case, Reimer could be a tandem option. Right now Detroit has bigger fish to fry.
Edmonton Oilers
Cam Talbot is their guy. They could maybe use a backup for a season or two while Laurent Brossoit gets ready. I could see Reimer being willing to sign in Edmonton — he’s from cold Manitoba and has trained in B.C. — but we’re shoe-horning it a bit here.
Florida Panthers
When the world ends, all that will be left are cockroaches and Roberto Luongo’s contract. Luckily for the Panthers he’s still a really good goalie. Al Montoya is a UFA but again, this is a pure backup job.
Los Angeles Kings
Their goalie plan seems simple: Jonathan Quick and “Who Cares ‘Cause We’re Not Playing Them Anyway.” Not exactly ideal for Reimer.
Minnesota Wild
Devan Dubnyk is the guy there forever and they still seem to like Darcy Kuemper. Nope.
Montreal Canadiens
C’mon.
Nashville Predators
Did you know Pekka Rinne makes $7 million? He does.
New Jersey Devils
Cory Schneider is a fantastic goalie and the Devils seem willing to ride him like they rode Martin Brodeur for two decades.
New York Islanders
The only way this makes sense is if they trade Jaroslav Halak for some reason and Reimer takes less money than Halak, who currently makes $4.5 million. Then the Isles would have a tandem of Reimer and Thomas Greiss, which is fine, but they already have Halak and Greiss.
New York Rangers
Ever heard of Henrik Lundqvist? Swedish guy, gorgeous, goes on Jimmy Fallon sometimes? Yeah.
Ottawa Senators
Well, he does play well in Ottawa. The stingy Sens already have Craig Anderson and Andrew Hammond in there for a combined $5.55 million for the next two years each. If one goes for some reason, this could make sense. Otherwise, no.
Philadelphia Flyers
Somehow the Flyers actually have a pretty good thing going on with their Michal Neuvirth and Steve Mason tandem. No fit.
Pittsburgh Penguins
There’s a possibility they’re already trying to unload Marc-Andre Fleury because of the expansion draft and how tight they are to the cap. Matt Murray just helped win them a Cup. Shoutout to Jeff Zatkoff. It’s hard to see this working, although a Murray/Reimer tandem could make sense if they somehow dump Fleury without acquiring another goalie back. How would Pittsburgh do that? No idea.
San Jose Sharks
This seems to make sense at first glance. Martin Jones is the starter but James Reimer was very helpful for him down the stretch. Here’s the problem if I’m Reimer: Jones makes $3 million for the next two years. If I’m the best free agent goalie available, I want more than $3 million for two years, especially if my cap hit last season was already $2.3 million. Let’s say the Sharks and Reimer do settle on two years at $3 million per. If I’m Martin Jones I’m like “Dude, I almost single-handedly stole you a Cup.” There’s something that could work here, but Reimer wouldn’t be getting a crazy payday.
St. Louis Blues
Brian Elliott and Jake Allen are both on cheap deals for one more season. People keep talking about a potential Elliott trade but I doubt it. The Blues could end up being a perfect situation for Reimer, just not for another twelve months.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Surprisingly similar to the Blues, actually. Ben Bishop is clearly their guy now, Andrei Vasilevskiy is clearly their guy later, and rumours they’ll end up trading Bishop have been around for a while now. A Vasilevskiy/Reimer tandem could make sense and be great – in a year.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Get ready for heartbreak: It’s not gonna happen. Frederik Andersen is the starter, Bernier may or may not be gone, and once Bernier is replaced it’s going to be by a guy making much less than the $4.15 million he’s making now. Sadly, I think this autobot has rolled out. Is it dusty in here? I’m allergic to uh- next!
Vancouver Canucks
This could actually work. I already mentioned that Reimer has trained in B.C.. Ryan Miller is in the twilight of his career and still making big dough at $6 million for one more season. Jacob Markstrom has one year left on his deal. A Reimer/Markstrom tandem could be both decent and affordable. Once again – one year off. So, so close. (Author’s edit: You forgot about Thatcher Demko, Steve. People are mad now.)
Washington Capitals
Braden Holtby is going to yawn his way to the Vezina Trophy in Las Vegas at this year’s NHL Awards while Philipp Grubauer gets to be his “Wow you actually want me to play tonight?” backup goalie. No fit.
Another great fit one year from now! Michael Hutchison just signed an affordable two-year deal. Reimer could be Hutch’s perfect tandem partner and maybe even starter. Problem? Ondrej Pavelec still has one year left on a deal that pays him $3.9 million against the cap. I looked into the possibility of trading Pavelec to a team looking to hit the cap floor like Arizona or Carolina but he makes no sense for them. His cap hit is $3.9 million but his actual salary this season is the most of any of the five years of his current contract: $4.75 million. Ouch. Once again, one year off.
As General Fanager mentioned on the podcast there is another option…
THE LAS VEGAS HOPEFULLY NOT BLACK KNIGHTS BECAUSE WOWZERS
Starting a brand new hockey team? Looking for a goalie who doesn’t suck, have a nightmare contract, or both? Heeere’s James! Why take a goalie from a team team who doesn’t even want them, basically doing them a huge favour, when you could just sign the goalie of your dreams for free? What’s that? You’re not a team until next year? Oh.
So there’s every team in the league. James Reimer’s options are obviously limited and very few of his options are ideal. That said, it’s not like Reimer is totally screwed here. He’s an NHL goalie. He will find an NHL job. Even if it’s not a starting job, it will be an NHL job. Even if it’s not a huge payday he’ll still be making millions of dollars. Life will still be awesome for the magic angel robot from Winnipeg.
Final thought: I think he’s going to Calgary. Seems obvious, right? It seems like a perfect fit and they can pay him the most. The problem is if Reimer’s asking price is too high for the Flames, they can go out and get somebody else, and then where does he go? I wonder how much that drives his asking price down. I also wonder how many of the trade rumours surrounding the Flames’ goaltending situation are simply gamesmanship and an attempt to drive the price down. Welcome to whacky season!
Where do you think James Reimer will sign?
