After over a month of looking at options for the Oilers this summer, we’ve hit the final stop. Today, we take a look at the final player on the 2016 off-season targets list. The Oilers, as we talked about last week, are in the market for a backup goaltender to play behind Cam Talbot.
We’ve touched on traditional backups like Chad Johnson, Jhonas Enroth and Jonas Gustavsson, but what about a goalie that can do a little bit more? San Jose Sharks G James Reimer will be a free agent this summer and could provide Edmonton with more than a little cover. Reimer could very well be a 1B goalie to Talbot.
Why Is He Out There?:
The Sharks are committed to $60,894,164 for next season, but only have nine forwards, six defenders and one goalie under contract. Among those that must be re-signed are Tomas Hertl, Matt Nieto and Roman Polak. Both Hertl and Nieto are likely to get raises this summer, so the Sharks need to allocate money for that.
Re-signing Reimer, whose full cap hit is $2,300,000 per season, might not be in the plans for San Jose. Reimer will likely want a multi-year deal and the Sharks probably won’t want to invest in a backup goaltender like that.
What Does He Do Well?:
The Hockey News does an excellent job of breaking down every player’s strengths and weaknesses. Their look at Reimer is here.
Assets: Has good size (6-2, 208 pounds) for the crease position. A solid technical goaltender, he’s calm and poised with good flexibility and a neat catching mitt. Works very hard and never quits. Flaws: Has not yet proven he can be a perennial 60-plus game goaltender at the National Hockey League level. At times, he will play too deep in the net. Can give up bad goals from time to time. Career Potential: Quality goaltender.
Reimer is an interesting goaltender because he is quite undervalued. The media in Toronto had this weird obsession with blaming all the failures of the Leafs on their good players. Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf and Reimer all got way too much blame for Toronto’s recent failures.
In reality, Reimer is the biggest reason Toronto made the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs and is a huge reason why they took the Bruins to seven games that year. In Toronto, Reimer posted SV%’s of .921 (2010-11), .900 (2011-12), .924 (2012-13), .911 (2013-14), .907 (2014-15) and .918 in 2015-16. After his trade to San Jose, Reimer posted a .938 SV% in eight tilts. A small sample size, but a dominating one.
James Reimer was a victim of a dysfunctional organization in Toronto, much like what we have seen in Edmonton in recent years. Reimer wasn’t a world beater, but he played respectable hockey every year behind a really, really bad team. Any time he played on a decent team, he flourished.
He’s not an elite goaltender, but I think James Reimer is capable of being a reliable netminder in the NHL. He has shown that to us before in some very tough situations.
Where Will He Play / Where Should He Play?:
If the Oilers signed James Reimer at some point this summer, he would become the team’s backup netminder behind Cam Talbot. That said, the pressure would absolutely be on Talbot to perform at a high level like he did from December through the end of the season. Unlike the other options we have looked at, Reimer has the ability to be a starting goaltender, he has done it before.
I can see Reimer getting between 30-35 games, which would leave Talbot somewhere around the 50 game mark. It’s more of a split than we would be used to, but both goalies would be fresh and there would finally be competition in the Edmonton net.
What Will He Cost?:
As mentioned above, Reimer counted against the cap at a figure of $2,300,000 per season. That is likely too much for the Oilers to spend on the backup position. I think Edmonton would be willing to go to $2,000,000 per year on a two or three year deal, but that’s it.
On the open market, I think a team like Winnipeg or Calgary may be willing to give Reimer $3,000,000 or more per season. That would put him out of the Oilers range.
Closing Argument:
Unfortunately, it looks like James Reimer is going to price himself out of the Oilers range this off-season. Like I said, a team like Calgary or Winnipeg may be willing to give him starter’s money to fill the holes they currently have at that position. Edmonton has Cam Talbot and doesn’t have $3,000,000 to spare on a second goalie.
That said, Reimer seems like the perfect candidate to join Talbot. He’s only 28 years old, has handled the starting job before in Toronto, has good career numbers and is a pretty good guy in the room. If his price is even close to acceptable, then Edmonton should be in on this player.
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