Rangers, James Reimer Contract Termination Echoes Historically Harsh Reality For Multiple Longtime NHL Goaltenders

Being an NHL-caliber goaltender is one of the toughest jobs in professional sports. If you’re one of the precious few who can consistently put in needle-moving efforts for your team, the world’s your oyster. But even then, at the tail end of your career, your power slips through your fingers and you find yourself exiting the game on terms you wouldn’t prefer. 

The latest example of that is journeyman netminder James Reimer. The veteran goalie was placed on waivers for the purpose of contract termination by the New York Rangers on Saturday, mutually agreeing to part ways off his one-year contract.

The 38-year-old came to the Rangers as a clear stop-gap measure when the Blueshirts’ top two goalies – superstar Igor Shesterkin and backup Joonas Korpisalo – were sidelined by injury. But in Reimer’s one game as a Ranger, he allowed three goals on eight shots against the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 26. And the writing was on the wall for him once Korpisalo returned to action.

Now, we’re not going to tell you Reimer is one of the all-time great goaltenders the sport has ever seen. But there are very few goalies who can claim to have appeared in 540 regular-season games – and in that span, Reimer posted a career average of a .909 save percentage and a goals-against average of 2.88, along with 32 shutouts. 

Those aren’t Hockey Hall of Fame-caliber numbers, but some netminders would kill to have that experience and longevity, and although Reimer played for nearly one-third of the NHL’s teams – the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators and the Rangers – the fact that he played 17 seasons in hockey’s top league is no minor achievement. So if this is Reimer’s final NHL stop, you have to give him credit for toughing it out and extending his career beyond a point many thought him incapable of.

That said, if this is it for him, Reimer wasn’t able to author an ideal exit from the game. But he’s hardly alone in that regard. Even the most dominant goalies of their day wound up leaving in a way they would’ve preferred not to. 

Longtime Montreal Canadiens icon Carey Price had to stop playing in 2021-22 at age 34 due to a chronic knee injury. He appeared in 712 games, but in that final season, he appeared in only five games, posting an .878 SP and 3.63 GAA. So a player who won a Hart Trophy and a Vezina Trophy exited the game as salary cap ballast, technically as a member of the San Jose Sharks.

Similarly, Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist also left the game in a non-romantic way. In 2020, after making 887 appearances with the Blueshirts, Lundqvist had his contract bought out. And while he did sign with the Washington Capitals for the 2020-21 season, Lundqvist never played a game for the Caps, as he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat that required open-heart surgery. Like Price, Lundqvist was quickly ushered into the Hall of Fame after his career ended, but Lundqvist undoubtedly would’ve wanted to go out on his own terms.

And of course, one of the greatest goalies of all time – New Jersey Devils icon Martin Brodeur – also left the game in non-ideal circumstances. Brodeur appeared in 1,266 regular-season games, and he won four Vezinas and three Stanley Cups, but at the end of his career – wearing a St. Louis Blues jersey that looked utterly foreign on him – Brodeur was a third-stringer, playing behind Brian Elliott and Jake Allen.

Though his final NHL win was a shutout against the Colorado Avalanche – the 125th shutout of his career – Brodeur abruptly retired in the middle of the 2014-15 campaign, with a .899 SP in only seven appearances that year.

All of this isn’t to compare Reimer to Price, Lundqvist and Brodeur. But the fact that Reimer was able to stick around hockey’s best league for more than a decade-and-a-half is a tremendous achievement. And Reimer’s reputation as one of the nicest NHLers you’d ever want to meet is an important part of how he’ll be remembered. The end for him won’t be his favorite part of his career, but that’s true for virtually every goalie who’s ever played.

Athletes rarely get to dictate how their careers wind down, and that’s certainly true for Reimer and most NHL netminders. But in the face of constant pressure to produce solid results, Reimer handled himself well. He was a blip on the Rangers’ radar at the end of his time in Manhattan, but Reimer deserves credit for extending his career as much as he could. 

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