Reimer Signs, Waits For His Way Out

The back-up goaltending position is anything but sorted out with the re-signing of James Reimer to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.  Last year's second goaltender for the Leafs signed a 2-year year deal, worth $4.6 million, avoiding arbitration just before the end of the working week.

Reimer, 26, will be eligible for unrestricted free agency after this deal concludes, which should open some doors down the road.

At the start of the 2014 season, Reimer was embattled with Jonathan Bernier for the number one job in the biggest hockey market in Canada and was possibly slighted by the fact that the team went after a number one goalie after Reimer led the team back into the playoffs after eight years and almost made it into the second round of the 2013 playoffs.  At any chance Reimer had to redeem himself and try to earn the job, the Toronto media circles were not too kind and when Reimer wasn't seeing time, they were awfully caring then, trying to stir up a story and I would say that hurt his play and his numbers by the end of the year.

His totals in the 2014 season were minimal, winning 12 games and earning 26 points for the hockey pool, making him only the 46th ranked goaltender in pool scoring, barely being a viable pool goalie.

Since the end of the season, it has been out there that Reimer has asked the Leafs organization for a trade out of Toronto and the Leafs will try to make good on that for him, but if you were to look at the market today, there isn't a lot of options open for a goalie like Reimer.  He may have to be patient and even head to Leafs camp before a deal can get done.

It has been pretty well-documented on the blog that the Maple Leafs may be keeping a number of their roster spots open for some of their European signings, so when I say that their projected roster is only at 18 players, as of the Reimer signing, it should have a few more, but who is really to say that those guys will earn their spot? The inclusion of Reimer now brings their cap number up to $57.9 million with five spots open to fight for, leaving $11.1 million to pick from.