James Reimer
Reimer is a 38-year-old stopgap the Rangers signed on October 25 to a one-year, $850,000 deal while Igor Shesterkin is out for the season, and how many starts he gets is not yet settled.
Role
He joins a crease where Dylan Garand, 24, has been the No. 1 since Shesterkin went down (4-4-1, 2.65 GAA, .900 save percentage per TSN, October 25). Yahoo/SI speculated Garand and Reimer could become a 1A/1B split. Hudson River Blue says the coaches and goalie coach Jeff Malcolm will talk with Reimer and work out a plan for using him. Markerzone says whether Reimer gets the net right away is up to coach Sullivan. Joonas Korpisalo is out until at least November 9, per Markerzone. Spencer Martin was sent to Hartford to clear room. I have not read a Daily Faceoff page, and no confirmed start schedule or tandem split has been reported.
He has 539 NHL games of experience and a career .909 save percentage. He went 7-4-2 with a 2.42 GAA for Ottawa last season. He stopped all 35 shots in his one Hartford game. Garand is described as wearing down from the heaviest workload of his career, so Reimer could take a real share of starts, and Yahoo/SI calls him a sizable upgrade over Martin as the No. 2.
Last season he saved 253 of 286 shots faced, which works out to a mediocre save percentage (Yahoo cites .884, TSN and the Rangers .886). He played only 14 games for Ottawa, with 2 starts per our data, and the Rangers called this move depth. Markerzone says a 38-year-old on a one-year deal won't carry a playoff run and that Drury still needs a real answer in goal. His signing came after one AHL game. Garand is the incumbent, and Korpisalo's return could crowd the crease, with Yahoo/SI noting New York could end up carrying three goalies.
Where analysts split
The open question is whether Reimer is a true 1B who takes a large share of starts from a tiring Garand, or a backup who plays only occasionally. A second question is what happens to his role when Korpisalo returns, no earlier than November 9. The coverage I found is speculation, not a reported plan.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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