{"id":7177,"date":"2017-02-28T09:56:31","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T14:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=7177"},"modified":"2017-02-28T12:57:47","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T17:57:47","slug":"james-reimer-ideal-situation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/02\/28\/james-reimer-ideal-situation\/","title":{"rendered":"James Reimer\u2019s Ideal Situation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The process of developing into a starting goaltender in the NHL can be a long journey. It comes with its fair share of ups and downs, but for few it has managed to all pay off one day. In the case of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/reimeja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Reimer<\/a><\/strong>, who\u2019s in his first season with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/panthers\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Florida Panthers<\/a>, it is beginning to look like an ideal situation.<\/p>\n<h1>James Reimer\u2019s Ideal Situation<\/h1>\n<p>Since being selected 99<sup>th<\/sup> overall in the fourth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/mapleleafs\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>, Reimer has always had his doubters. He never had true job security or resounding confidence from his team or the fans. Not being one of the most technically sound or smooth looking goalies, he has consistently been a long shot to make it as a true starter, despite the Morweena, Manitoba native always bringing nothing but effort and dedication, two traits that have been on display since the day he broke into the NHL.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"James Reimer&#039;s HUGE Highlight Reel Save vs Bruins - May 10th 2013 (HD)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uz6LlEVGO0Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>During his time with the Leafs, Reimer put up great numbers. In 2013, he backstopped the Leafs to their first playoff appearance in seven seasons. Down 3-1 to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/bruins\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Boston Bruins<\/a> in the first round, Reimer kept his team alive, only allowing two goals on 74 shots the next two games to force a game seven. Toronto lost in the infamous game seven in historic fashion, but that series gave Reimer the opportunity to showcase his potential. The only problem, however, was that the Leafs still did not see Reimer as their future goalie.<\/p>\n<p>This past off-season, the Panthers finally offered the 28-year-old something he never had with the Leafs, security and confidence. He signed a five-year, $17 million dollar contract, and was brought in to take some of the load off of aging goalie, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/luongro01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roberto Luongo<\/a><\/strong>, and possibly develop into the future starter. So far, his situation looks like a perfect one for both Reimer and the Panthers.<\/p>\n<p>Last year Reimer had the league\u2019s highest 5-on-5 save percentage and this season he ranks a very respectable third. He only trails the Capitals\u2019\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/holtbbr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Braden Holtby<\/a><\/strong> and the Wild\u2019s\u00a0<strong>Devon Dubnyk<\/strong>. He has improved on that stat throughout the campaign.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/shane1342o\/status\/834432504178343936<\/p>\n<p>And while Reimer has been getting better, Luongo has struggled in his 16<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0NHL season. His save percentage has dropped from .922 to .913 and the 37-year-old\u2019s 5-on-5 \u2018high danger\u2019 save percentage is .784, down significantly from .826 last year. That said, however, there are some rumours that Luongo has been fighting an injury for the past few weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Even with the Panthers only three points out of a playoff spot with Luongo as their starter all year, he thinks his teammate, Reimer, should be starting. \u201cRight now I don\u2019t deserve to be playing. That\u2019s the bottom line,\u201d he told the Miami Herald on Sunday. \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/sports\/nhl\/florida-panthers\/article135098189.html#navlink=SecList\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">For me everything is about the team and us winning games. James Reimer gives us a better chance to win every night than I am. Until I figure my [game] out this is the way it should go I think.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But even with his improvements, Reimer still isn\u2019t the most polished goalie in the league. He has not played over 40 games in a single season, has a career save percentage of .915 (low among NHL starting goalies), needs to improve on his rebound control a bit more, and hasn\u2019t been the greatest when his team is short-handed. With that being said, Reimer\u2019s game continues to trend in the right direction.<\/p>\n<p>There are some goalies that reach high-level play early on in their careers, such as Luongo, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/priceca01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carey Price<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/roypa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patrick Roy<\/a><\/strong>. For others, it sometimes takes a little bit longer to figure out their game and fully develop. Many say goalies hit their stride or peak around their late 20\u2019s. And there are many examples in today\u2019s game, such as the Wilds\u2019 Dubynk, the Coyotes\u2019 <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/smithmi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Smith<\/a><\/strong>, and most recently the Islanders\u2019 <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/g\/greisth01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Thomas Greiss<\/a><\/strong> and the Oilers\u2019 <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/talboca01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cam Talbot<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>A common theme between Reimer and those that are beginning to figure out their game is that they are all on different teams than those that originally drafted them or they first played for. This is important to point out because once an organization has an impression on an individual it\u2019s hard for the player to change that, especially a goalie. The next team allows an opportunity to create a new impression.<\/p>\n<p>The Panthers are stacked with young talent on both their forward lines and defence, and as a team and individuals, have only got better from last year\u2019s playoff experience. With Luongo\u2019s game slowly beginning to head south, the signing of Reimer came at the right time for the organization. Reimer has shown flashes of elite goalie potential, and with his situation in Florida he has the opportunity to display his ability more consistently. The Panthers are in his corner offering confidence, security, and perhaps most importantly, opportunity. There should not be a trace of doubt that Reimer and the Panthers are in an ideal situation.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/637947040\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.666667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/637947040?et=n4yZgHZdSTBcLM7bNUWrHg&amp;viewMoreLink=on&amp;sig=gzjOSgmBQWyXG6ur6mVgkgQspWcwOVOtjZsYAjd3eQs=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The process of developing into a starting goaltender in the NHL can be a long journey. It comes with its fair share of ups and downs, but for few it has managed to all pay off one day. In the case of James Reimer, who\u2019s in his first season with the Florida Panthers, it is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1883,"featured_media":7196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_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":[2,6],"tags":[106,37,322,38,409,72],"class_list":["post-7177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-panthers","tag-florida-panthers","tag-hockey","tag-james-reimer","tag-nhl","tag-roberto-luongo","tag-toronto-maple-leafs"],"modified_by":"Nic Hendrickson","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7177","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\/1883"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}