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New Report Involving James Reimer and the Leafs Raises a Lot of Questions in Toronto
Photo credit: Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images
Top NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman's latest report on James Reimer and the Maple Leafs has raised some questions as to how the team will proceed.
With Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll currently away from the team on a leave of absence for an indefinite amount of time, GM Brad Treliving brought in veteran goaltender and former Leaf James Reimer on a PTO, giving fans some immediate nostalgia value.
Last week, Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos told listeners during an episode of The Real Kyper & Bourne Show that Woll's absence will stretch at least one month, which seemed to increase the likelihood that Reimer's PTO would eventually become a full-fledged 1-year NHL contract.
This week, however, a report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on a subsequent episode of The Real Kyper & Bourne Show this week suggests that Reimer may or may not be sticking around. Either way, he did establish that the Leafs won't begin the season with Dennis Hildeby as the backup.
"There's three back-to-backs in the first month, right? How comfortable are you going to be starting with Stolarz and, say, Hildeby? I don't think they're going to be comfortable with that at all, so I would expect Reimer to get signed, or they go after one of these goalies on waivers." - Friedman on the Leafs' goaltending situation
With Reimer already factoring into the team's plans at practice, it seems like a foregone conclusion that he will sign a deal and begin the season with the Leafs.
However, as Friedman also noted, the Leafs may opt to wait and see who winds up on waivers before committing to signing Reimer to a 1-year deal.
Elliotte Friedman Names Three Interesting Goaltenders Expected to Land on Waivers This Week
In terms of who might be available that could interest the Leafs, Friedman named a trio of interesting names who are expected to hit waives this week in Nico Daws (NJ), Clay Stevenson (WSH), and Michael DiPietro (BOS).
With the Leafs previously prioritizing experience for their 3rd goaltender with the additions of Martin Jones and Matt Murray, most signs, I'm sure, point to Reimer getting the contract. However, Friedman did suggest that a number of teams were high on Stevenson in Washington, so he could be a realistic option as well.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 1 | 2534 ANSWERS New Report Involving James Reimer and the Leafs Raises a Lot of Questions in Toronto Do you see James Reimer signing an NHL contract with the Leafs, or will they claim another goalie off of waivers and cut Reimer loose? | ||
| Claim a better goalie off of waivers | 648 | 25.6 % |
| Roll with Reimer | 1673 | 66 % |
| Not sure | 213 | 8.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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