James Reimer is back on the waiver wire, and this time the Rangers are the team making the move.
New York placed the 38-year-old goaltender on waivers after he played just one period for the club this season. Reimer has 540 NHL games on his resume, but his latest stop has been brief, and now every team in the league has a chance to take a look.
The waiver news came a day after Columbus Blue Jackets players Danton Heinen and Emil Andrae were also put on waivers. Neither player was claimed today, which matched the expectation in the earlier report on both players. Heinen has not picked up a point in 10 games this season, while Andrae has two assists in five games.
For Montreal, Reimer’s availability is more of a note than a target. The Canadiens are not seen as a fit, and their crease already looks crowded. Renaud Lavoie reported that Samuel Montembeault was expected back in approximately two weeks, which could create a three-goalie situation.
That’s not exactly the kind of setup that invites a waiver claim. Montreal is 9-3-3 and sits sixth in the NHL standings, and the team has gone 7-1-2 over its last 10 games. Even after Tuesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to Winnipeg, the picture hasn’t really changed.
Reimer is on a one-year contract with the Rangers worth less than $1 million, and he’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. For a club that needs help in goal, that kind of deal can be appealing as a low-cost depth option.
The Canadiens host Utah tonight, and Martin St-Louis already has the goaltending pieces he needs. If Reimer ends up anywhere else, it will likely be with a team that has a more urgent need between the pipes.
In Other News...
Canadiens Face One Big Kucherov Question Fans Wont Ignore
Nikita Kucherovs trade request out of Tampa Bay has already become one of the summers most intriguing leaguewide storylines, and Montreal has naturally found its way into the conversation. With the winger entering the final year of his contract, the Lightning are in control of the process for now, which means any serious pursuit would have to navigate both Tampa Bays asking price and a market that figures to heat up quickly.
The Canadiens have been mentioned as a possible suitor, which alone is enough to get attention in Montreal given the kind of impact a player like Kucherov would have. But this is still very much a speculative situation, and the reality is that several teams are expected to be in the mix while the Lightning decide how to handle the trade process. For Canadiens fans, it is the kind of name worth watching closely, even if the road to a deal remains anything but simple. [Read more 🡒]
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The names floating around are Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson, but the rest is still very much in the rumor stage. Edvinsson is reportedly seeking a trade, while Larkin may be open to broadening his options, yet there has been no confirmation of talks or even a meeting between Gorton and Detroit officials, which leaves the whole situation hanging in the kind of uncertainty that usually keeps fans refreshing their feeds. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Finally Have Hope On Key Injuries Including Demidov
The Canadiens got a small but meaningful sign of progress on the injury front this week, with Ivan Demidov, Samuel Montembeault and Mike Matheson all taking part in on-ice recovery sessions as they work their way back. For a team that has been waiting on key pieces to get healthy, seeing that trio back on skates at least nudges the picture in a better direction and gives Montreal a little more reason to believe help is coming.
Demidovs return had already been pushed beyond the original target date, and the earliest realistic window now points to mid-November. The bigger takeaway for the Canadiens is that all three players appear to be moving toward a return before the end of the month, which would give Martin St. Louis more flexibility in a stretch where every lineup decision has mattered. [Read more 🡒]