Last Monday, former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender James Reimer was called upon by the New York Rangers to see if he could be a viable backup option for the team with regular starter Igor Shesterkin gone for the season with a knee injury. Unfortunately for Reimer, things didn’t go the way as planned as he gave up three goals on eight shots and was ultimately pulled as the Rangers lost to the Los Angeles Kings 6-3.
Now just a week later, it appears as though Reimer won’t get the opportunity to redeem himself as New York has placed him on waivers, likely ending his tenure with the club. With that, could it be the end of the line for the former Maple Leafs fan favourite?
Could this be the end of the line for a former Maple Leafs fan favourite?
After all, at 38 years of age while seeing only 14 games of action last season with the Ottawa Senators, time certainly isn’t by his side. In addition, Reimer went through this past summer without being picked up by a team. If it wasn’t for the Rangers’ desperation move to find goaltending depth to support rookie goalie Dylan Garand, Reimer might actually still be trying to look for employment. But a professional tryout with New York’s AHL affiliate Hartford paved the way to a one-year contract with the parent Rangers squad. However, it now appears things could be ending before it even started.
If this is indeed it for the 38-year-old netminder, then that would be the end of his 17-year illustrious NHL career that saw him make stops with the Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators and lastly the Rangers. Reimer may have posted his best numbers during his time with the Hurricanes, fielding a strong 45-29-11 record with a 2.66 GAA and .910 save percentage. But he will forever be remembered during his time with the Maple Leafs as “Optimus Reim” where he helped bring the team back into contention after almost a decade of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Who knows how much his NHL career would have panned out with the Leafs had the Boston Bruins not come back from down 4-1 in Game 7 of the first round of the 2013 playoffs. Nevertheless, Reimer definitely made his mark with the Toronto organization, spending six years with the club while compiling a solid 188-85-76 mark with a 2.83 GAA and .914 save percentage, his best save % with any team that he has played for in the league.
Hopefully Reimer will still get one more last kick at the can before he calls it a career. But either way, with 540 total games and 17 years of hockey under his belt, he certainly had his impact in the NHL in more ways than one.
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