The Florida Panthers are looking to the future by signing former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender James Reimer. They’re giving him a five-year contract with a $3.4 million AAV, according to multiple sources. The deal doesn’t include any NMC or NTC protection, according to Chris Johnston.
Reimer has posted solid numbers throughout his career, particularly last season when he was traded to the San Jose Sharks and put in some good starts for the Sharks on their way to the Stanley Cup Final. He has a .914 all situation save percentage throughout his career. He posted a .918 through 32 games with Toronto and then an impressive .938 in just eight starts with San Jose.
This signing creates an interesting situation in Sunrise. The team still has many years of Roberto Luongo left and they just traded to acquire Reto Berra.
That gives the team three goaltenders carrying a cap hit of $9.383 million between the trio. It’s not clear how they’re going to handle that going forward, or if there’s some positioning for the expansion draft going on, but it will be an interesting situation there going forward.