Veteran netminder James Reimer returns to the NHL, signing a one-way deal that the Senators hope will bolster their goaltending depth for the rest of this season.
Senators GM Steve Staios announced on Monday that the team has signed goaltender James Reimer to a one-way deal for the rest of this season with an average annual value of $850,000.
The 37-year-old veteran made his debut for the organization on Sunday. He gave up six goals on 28 shots for the AHL's Belleville Senators who came away with a 6-5 overtime loss to Rochester. The hope is that Reimer can help stabilize shaky goaltending and keep the Senators from falling completely out of the race even before the Olympic break happens.
He joined the Senators for practice on Monday morning in Ottawa as they prepare for a home game against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.
Reimer has had a solid NHL career, playing in 525 regular season games, with a record of 225-187-65, a goals-against average of 2.89 and a save percentage of .910. He's played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, San Jose Sharks, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, and Buffalo Sabres. In 22 games with the Sabres last season, he went 10-8-2 with a goals-against average of 2.90 and a save percentage of .901.
Over the holidays, he got into two games for Team Canada in the Spengler Cup tournament in Davos, Switzerland. Canada fell to HC Sparta Prague 5-1 in the quarterfinals, though it was former Carleton Place Canadians goalie Connor Hughes who was chosen to play in that elimination game.
Reimer signed a PTO with the Leafs ahead of the 2025-26 season, but was released by the team in October.
With the Senators recently dealing with controversy over a false social media rumour about one of their goalies, Reimer is a goalie who arrives with some past controversy of his own. In 2023 with the San Jose Sharks, he chose not to wear a pregame warmup jersey in support of the team’s week-long “Pride Night” festivities.
With Linus Ullmark away from the team on a personal leave of absence, backup Leevi Merilainen has not shown the form he displayed last season. It's quite likely that Merilainen is sent to Belleville to get his confidence back at some point when Ullmark returns, though much will depend on how much Reimer has left in the tank.
Goaltending has been a large part of why the Senators have lost four straight and seven of their last nine games.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News - Ottawa