{"id":481826,"date":"2026-01-12T18:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T23:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=481826"},"modified":"2026-01-12T18:11:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T23:11:30","slug":"ottawa-senators-look-to-shore-up-their-crease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/01\/12\/ottawa-senators-look-to-shore-up-their-crease\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ottawa Senators Look to Shore Up their Crease"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/01\/10\/nhl-rumours-fallout-from-latest-from-ottawa-senators-goaltender\/\" target=\"_self\">Ottawa Senators<\/a> made a little, big move today. Having no goalie available in the organization with more than say, three years of tangible NHL experience, they changed that. Today, they announced <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/reimeja01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-12_hr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Reimer<\/a> signs a standard, NHL player contract. It is a pro-rated $850K deal for the remainder of 2025-26. This is a solid move by Ottawa. Let&#8217;s find out the very latest from the Canadian National City, Ottawa, Ontario, home of the Senators.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">James Reimer signs a one-year, one-way deal with <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/sens?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#sens<\/a> worth a pro-rated $850,000<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/reporterchris\/status\/2010737629676126625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Reimer Signs, Let&#8217;s\u00a0Breaking It Down, Next<\/h2>\n<p>With their number one goalie away from the club on a leave of absence, the Sens needed to be proactive. Signing Reimer, although lacking star power, was a very low-risk move, by the always accountable Ottawa Senators general manager <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/staiost01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-12_hr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steve Staios<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">James Reimer &amp; his recent history as a goalie:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; has not played any NHL games this season<br \/>&#8211; played last night (Jan 11th) for Belleville vs Rochester (22\/28, 6.05 GAA, 0.786 save %)<br \/>&#8211; played two games for Canada at the 2025 Spengler Cup (2.54 GAA, 0.919 save %)<br \/>&#8211; played 24 NHL\u2026<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Claire Hanna (@clahanna) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/clahanna\/status\/2010739581289898475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This is, in some sense a band-aid solution for the Sens. But, even in his more recent seasons, Reimer has shown he can post very solid numbers. Therefore, what is intended as a temporary fix, could still turn into a season-saving move by GM Staios.<\/p>\n<p>Reimer hasn&#8217;t played much in 2025-26, thus far. But, there is a chance that could change, in a big way. Reimer appeared for a couple games with Team Canada at the Spengler Cup. In addition, he played for the AHL&#8217;s Belleville Senators over the past weekend. Conversely, let&#8217;s be honest, Reimer wasn&#8217;t brought in for his season to this point. Reimer comes in with plenty of NHL experience, 13 times playing 25-or-more games in a season. Five times he played 40-or-more. That&#8217;s the level that Ullmark has been at during his peak.<\/p>\n<h3>His Stats<\/h3>\n<p>Reimer has played 525 career regular season NHL games. In that time, he owns a 225-187-65 record with 31 career shutouts. He holds a 2.89 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage throughout his time in the league, as well. According to hockey-reference, he carries a -9.1 career goals-saved above average. So, not necessarily ideal, despite some seemingly good stats overall. In contrast, if you scratch out a couple bad seasons.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"QBw0J7oU9T\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/01\/09\/a-mid-season-review-of-the-ottawa-senators-goaltending-structure-with-statistics\/\" target=\"_self\">A Mid-Season Review of the Ottawa Senators Goaltending Structure with Statistics<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;A Mid-Season Review of the Ottawa Senators Goaltending Structure with Statistics&#8221; &#8212; Last Word On Hockey\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/01\/09\/a-mid-season-review-of-the-ottawa-senators-goaltending-structure-with-statistics\/embed\/#?secret=z5LZQ4uiMV#?secret=QBw0J7oU9T\" data-secret=\"QBw0J7oU9T\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>2022-23 in San Jose Sharks with a -19.2 GSAA, and his second year in the league, 2011-12 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was also bad. That year he had a -12.8 GSAA. Furthermore, that was followed by his career-best season, in 2012-13, with a 11.6 GSAA.<\/p>\n<p>In more recent seasons, he has been a league-average statistical goaltender. His save percentage was between .890 and .904 in the last three years, appearing in between 24 and 43 games.<\/p>\n<p>Things haven&#8217;t been great in Ottawa in 2025-26, for the guys wearing the pads. Ullmark is 14-8-5 and an .881 save percentage. Meanwhile, <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/merille01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-12_hr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Leevi Merilainen<\/a> has been put in many high-leverage situations, as a 23-year-old. He&#8217;s 6-10-0, sporting an .866 SV%. Something isn&#8217;t right defensively for Staios and side.<\/p>\n<h3>The Team<\/h3>\n<p>The Ottawa Senators came into 2025-26, with lofty expectations.<\/p>\n<p>With key players like <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/chaboth01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-12_hr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Thomas Chabot<\/a>, <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/pintosh01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-12_hr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shane Pinto<\/a>, <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/tkachbr01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-12_hr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brady Tkachuk<\/a>, and recently, the aforementioned Ullmark, having each missed time, it has had a significant impact on the club.<\/p>\n<p>The other side of it, is Ottawa has been &#8216;analytically&#8217; a strong team. They limit things like shots on goal and quality 5v5 chances. Hopefully, a recharge in net, and the Sens will Transform into the Autobots in front of <em>Optimus Reim<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"fr\" dir=\"ltr\">NEWS RELEASE: <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Sens?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Sens<\/a> agree to one-year contract with goaltender James Reimer: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dO2X6iA7EG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/dO2X6iA7EG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>COMMUNIQU\u00c9: Les <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Sens?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Sens<\/a> accordent un contrat d&#39;un an au gardien James Reimer: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zFw4Op6WwY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/zFw4Op6WwY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sens Communications (@Media_Sens) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Media_Sens\/status\/2010737478039400856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ottawa Senators made a little, big move today. Having no goalie available in the organization with more than say, three years of tangible NHL experience, they changed that. Today, they announced James Reimer signs a standard, NHL player contract. It is a pro-rated $850K deal for the remainder of 2025-26. This is a solid [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4222,"featured_media":470553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4547,34,4548],"tags":[322,3476,5755],"class_list":["post-481826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-senators","category-hockey","category-news","category-nhl","tag-james-reimer","tag-linus-ullmark","tag-ottawa-senators-news"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481826"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":481845,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481826\/revisions\/481845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}