The idea that the Toronto Maple Leafs might be willing to demote the player who did more to help them win games in 2013-14 than any other seems ridiculous—unless, of course, you’re James Reimer.
"I was told there's a definite opportunity," Reimer told Toronto’s Fan 590 radio station (via NHL.com). "That's the mindset I'm coming in with, to really take advantage of the opportunity that's been given and earn the No. 1 spot."
Is Reimer being overly optimistic here? Is this the kind of thing teams tell disgruntled No. 1B goalies all the time in the hopes that they become more, uh, gruntled? Probably and definitely, but given that the current state of predicting goalies has some similarities with looking for oil with a divining rod, let’s not dismiss the idea out of hand.
To begin with, it’s important to note that there is some significant evidence that Reimer is actually a pretty good goalie. If we limit ourselves to goaltenders who have played at least 4,000 minutes at even strength over Reimer’s four-year career, he ranks 19th in save percentage. It’s a figure that puts him ahea ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
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