Rangers sign 16-year veteran goalie James Reimer
James Reimer of the Ottawa Senators warms up prior to a game against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 14.
GREENBURGH — With goalie Dylan Garand having started seven straight games in the wake of Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending lower-body injury and Joonas Korpisalo weeks away from returning from a lower-body injury, the Rangers brought in some goaltending help on Sunday, signing James Reimer, 38, to a one-year, $850,000 contract.
“He has a body of work in the league, has proven to be a very competent goalie, and given the circumstance that we’re in, I think Chris [Drury, the general manager] felt like he could give us some help in that regard,’’ coach Mike Sullivan said after the Rangers’ optional practice. “Dylan has had a heavy workload, as you guys know. So we’re trying to assimilate Reims into the mix here.”
Reimer, who played for Ottawa last season, had been with the Rangers’ Hartford Wolf Pack farm team after signing a tryout agreement last week. He made 35 saves and posted a shutout in his first appearance with Hartford on Friday.
Reimer, who is from Morweena, Manitoba, and lives in British Columbia, said he was at home, staying ready in case a team needed him, when he got the call from the Rangers.
“Obviously, it’s super-unfortunate about Igor . . . He’s one of the best in the league, and you never want to see a guy go down. So that sucks,’’ he said. “But yeah, got the call, and it seemed like a good opportunity and, kind of, here we are.”
Reimer, a 16-year veteran, joins his ninth NHL team. He has a career record of 232-191-67 with 32 shutouts, a 2.88 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.
He has bounced around the league the last four seasons; the Rangers are his fifth team in that span.
Originally a fourth-round pick (No. 99 overall) in the 2006 draft by Toronto, he spent the first 5 1⁄2 seasons of his career with the Maple Leafs before being traded to San Jose in February 2016.
He signed as a free agent with Florida that summer, and after three years with the Panthers, he was traded to Carolina. He played the next two years for the Hurricanes before re-signing with San Jose as a free agent.
After two years with the Sharks, he signed one-year deals with Detroit for the 2023–24 season, Buffalo for 2024–25 (he was claimed off waivers by Anaheim before being re-claimed by Buffalo later that season) and Ottawa, which he joined last January.
Reimer went 7-4-2 with a 2.42 goals-against average and .886 save percentage for Ottawa but didn’t re-sign there, and when he remained unsigned at the start of this season, he said he wasn’t quite ready to retire. He stayed in shape by practicing with two Junior A teams near his home, the West Kelowna Warriors and Vernon Vipers, both of the BCHL.
“You know, I’m really content with my NHL career,” he said. “I don’t need to play. I want to play. I love playing this game, and so if the situation is right and it works kind of for my family and whatnot, then it’s something you stay ready for and you make it happen. So that was kind of my mindset.
“Obviously, there’s days where you’re driving to a workout or a skate and you’re wondering, ‘Is this all for nothing? What am I doing?’ But you stick with it, and lucky enough for me, something came available.”
Korpisalo skated on his own Saturday for the first time since getting injured and skated again Sunday, Sullivan said. He still is at least two weeks away, according to the timeline the Rangers gave two weeks ago.
Goalie Spencer Martin and defenseman Matthew Robertson were returned to Hartford.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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