There was a familiar smiling face in the聽Maple Leafs聽dressing room Friday: James Reimer.
The Leafs have brought back the 37-year-old goalie on a professional tryout contract, some insurance with聽Joseph Woll on personal leave聽and Dennis Hildeby an unproven rookie.
“It鈥檚 cool to see him back in the building,鈥 said defenceman Morgan Rielly, the only player on the current roster who played with Reimer in his first stint with the Leafs.
Reimer will get his reintroduction to the 海角社区官网media on Saturday before the team’s top goalie, Anthony Stolarz, gets into his first exhibition game against the Montreal Canadiens.
”You always need depth,” Stolarz said. ”(Reimer is) someone I watched growing up. (He has a) unique style. Very big guy, very mobile. His patience was something that I noticed. So I’m looking forward to seeing him in here and getting to work with him.”
Leafs coach Craig Berube said not to read too much into Reimer’s presence as far as projecting when Woll will return.
鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 suggest anything, just depth,鈥 Berube said.
Reimer could remain with the Leafs whenever Woll returns. The Leafs have used veteran goalies like Matt Murray and Martin Jones as their third goalie in recent years.
And it鈥檚 probably not even bad news for Hildeby. The 24-year-old Swede doesn鈥檛 require waivers, and still needs playing time. The Leafs could use Reimer as Stolarz鈥檚 backup and let Hildeby get his games in with the Marlies. When Stolarz needs a rest, Hildeby could be recalled.
Reimer, who broke in with the Leafs in the 2010-11 season, is associated with a memorable but not successful Leafs era. He came out of nowhere in his rookie year, with an aw-shucks attitude and the flash of a glove to earn the聽nickname Optimus Reim.
He was the 海角社区官网goalie in 2013 in the聽Game 7, first-round meltdown in Boston.
The next season, he shared the net with Jonathan Bernier, when the two combined to go 2-12-0 down the stretch as the Leafs fell out of what had looked like a sure playoff spot. It was believed Reimer was playing hurt and when coach Randy Carlyle聽called his play 鈥渏ust OK,鈥聽the two had a falling out.
He was traded in the 2015-16 season to San Jose, where he had two tours of duty, and has also played for Florida, Carolina, Detroit, Buffalo and Anaheim. He has a 225-187-65 record in 525 NHL games, with a .910 save percentage and a 2.89 goals-against average.
海角社区官网was prominent in a pair of Reimer’s post-Leafs moments.
He was one of the two Carolina goalies injured against 海角社区官网on Feb. 22, 2020, leading to a win by David Ayres, the emergency backup goalie who was a building operator and ice resurfacer at the Ricoh Coliseum.聽
And he celebrated his 500th career game, then with the Detroit, with a 5-4 overtime win in 海角社区官网on April 13, 2024.
Reimer was one of the more popular players to wear the blue and white.
鈥淗e believes good things are going to happen every day,鈥 former Leafs GM Brian Burke said. 鈥淗e works hard. He鈥檚 a good team guy. This is a really good chance for him.鈥
Reimer is 11th on the Leafs’ career wins list with 85, seven back of Ed Belfour. and 11th in games played by a 海角社区官网goaltender with 207, three behind Bruce Gamble.
He has done it all with a smile on his face.
“That’s how I remember it,” Rielly said. “A smile on his face and always with a good attitude. He’s a hard worker and never took anything for granted. Over the course of a long year, a long career, that can go a long way.”聽
Woll is still expected to share the net this season with Anthony Stolarz, although there is no timeline set for his return to the team.
Woll is still expected to share the net this season with Anthony Stolarz, although there is no timeline set for his return to the team.
Channelling Nylander
Leafs winger William Nylander has started 聽so fans can follow him around 鈥渁nd see what my life is like.鈥
Nylander is used to having cameras around. The team鈥檚 media follows players behind the scenes, and he has been part of a couple of Prime documentaries following various players.
鈥淚 just thought it would be a fun thing to do,鈥 Nylander said. 鈥淕ive an insight to my life away from the rink and have some fun stuff in there.鈥
What do his teammates think?
鈥淚 guess I鈥檒l check it out to see what he鈥檚 doing,鈥 Rielly said.
A team divided
The Leafs didn鈥檛 make any cuts but did break into two groups unofficially, with one of them looking very much like the NHL team with a few extra players. Top prospect Easton Cowan was among the players vying for jobs coached by Craig Berube, along with forward Michael Pezzetta and defencemen Philippe Myers and Henry Thrun. Blue-line prospect Ben Danford was with the AHL group 鈥 Defenceman Simon Benoit (upper body) practised in a red, noncontact jersey.
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