On Friday, it was announced that restricted free agent goaltender James Reimer has signed a new contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, worth $4.6 million over two years ($2.3 million cap hit in each). Last season, Reimer struggled to get starts behind newer, shinier goalie Jonathan Bernier, who was effectively handed the starting job from the moment the team acquired him from Los Angeles (despite claims they would run with a 1A-1B system).
Overall, it can’t have been a very good year for Reimer. As is known all too well by Leafs fans, the team was terrible at the end of the 2013/14 season, undergoing a very thorough collapse, where they went from challenging for second in the Atlantic division, to a lottery team in just a few weeks in March. Unfortunately, said collapse happened to coincide with an injury to Bernier, meaning that Reimer shouldered the load for the horrendous 8-game losing streak included in that stretch.
Of course, many Leafs fans were quick to blame Reimer, demanding that the young goalie – who just one year before had dragged their terrible team into the playoffs – be traded. True, he was far from stellar – after the 16th of March, he had a save percentage of just .884. However, in the same game against the LA Kings where Bernier was injured, Reimer was hit in the head by Kings player Jarret Stoll. He was left in the game, probably because the Leafs had no one else to play in net, but the rest of the season he was noticeably worse than the beginning. This is all speculation, but Reimer’s numbers before and after the alleged head injury are eerily similar to those before and after his concussion in the 2011/12 season.
With many fans calling for him to be shipped out, and a suspected breakdown in relations between Leafs coach Randy Carlyle and Reimer, it was assumed the Manitoba native would not be playing in Toronto next year. At the end of the season, Reimer formally requested a trade. However, due to the nature of the NHL’s restricted free agency, the ball was in the Leafs’ court during negotiations. The Leafs have no obligation to trade him; Reimer would either have to re-up with the team, or sit out. Besides, with the amount of goaltenders that have changed teams already this offseason, there was really no market for someone like Reimer, who was quite a strange case – technically he’s a backup, but has shown that he could become a starter in the NHL. With the Winnipeg Jets somehow convinced that Ondrej Pavelec can be a competent number one, it’s nearly impossible for the Leafs to trade Reimer and get anything in return.
This is why Reimer caved, and signed a new deal before subjecting himself to the gruesome process that is salary arbitration. One has to assume the trade request still stands, but it’s unlikely that he won’t be a Leaf come October. Ultimately, this deal will likely work out well for both parties involved. Reimer could have a bounce-back year, and regain some of his trade value. He’ll probably be (more formally) backing up Bernier, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him still get more starts than a regular NHL backup. If that happens, then the Leafs could trade him somewhere where he’ll have a chance to be the starter (perhaps this is the year the Jets give up on Pavelectric?). Anyway, the Leafs will go into the season with one of the best goaltending tandems in the entire league, just as they did last season. It’s very possible that Jonathan Bernier will regress from his outstanding 2013/14 season, so the Leafs will surely be glad to have someone as good as Reimer there to help.
The price Reimer comes at is great for the Leafs. They now have two good goaltenders under contract, for just $5.7 million. That’s only slightly more than the Phoenix Coyotes pay Mike Smith, and less than Kari Lehtonen’s contract with the Dallas Stars. Comparables to Reimer’s salary are Edmonton’s Ben Scrivens (on basically the same contract), Tampa’s Ben Bishop (same cap hit), and Carolina’s Anton Khudobin ($2.25 million). All are (arguably) unproven, and have short-term “show me” contracts, to demonstrate their abilities. Reimer is no different, and will be given another chance with the Leafs to prove that he has the talent to start for an NHL team.
So, the re-signing of Reimer was probably inevitable. No one wants to go to arbitration, so the two sides in this case effectively split the difference between their two asking prices. In a worst-case scenario, Reimer doesn’t bounce back completely, and plays out the contract as a backup, before hitting unrestricted free agency. Best-case scenario, he’s the best backup in the NHL, and finally manages to get out of his toxic situation in Toronto, landing the starter’s job somewhere else (with the Leafs getting decent return for him). Whatever happens, this signing will almost certainly turn out well for both sides.
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