James Reimer may already be set to jump right into the Rangers’ net.
Dan Rosen of NHL.com was at New York’s practice and saw the newly signed goaltender as the first one off the ice, a possible sign that he’ll make his season debut - and his debut for the Rangers - against the Kings. The team has not made an official call on its starter yet.
Reimer’s arrival came quickly. He signed a one-year, $850K deal after being released from his professional tryout contract with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack on Sunday morning.
The 38-year-old then played Friday in his first game with Hartford and turned aside 35 shots in a shutout win over the Providence Bruins. By two days later, he was set to enter his 17th NHL season.
The Rangers are Reimer’s ninth NHL team, tying the league record for the most teams played for by a goaltender, alongside Cam Talbot. New York is also looking to ease the burden on 24-year-old Dylan Garand, who has been carrying a heavy load since Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury. The rookie has gone 4-4-1 with a .900 Sv% in nine appearances this season.
At Capitals practice, Jack St. Ivany was on the ice after being claimed off waivers from Winnipeg.
St. Ivany has appeared in four games this season and is averaging a career-low 13:31 per game.
In 57 career NHL appearances across parts of four seasons, with the rest of that time coming in Pittsburgh, the 27-year-old has nine assists, 68 blocks and 122 hits in 15:30 of ice time per night.
Washington also had defenseman Jakob Chychrun leave practice. The reason wasn’t known, and Chychrun later returned in regular clothes to watch the rest.
In Carolina, Alexander Nikishin remains away from the NHL roster for now, according to Walt Ruff. Nikishin signed a one-year, $3MM deal to stay with the Hurricanes after requesting a trade over the summer, but he has not yet joined the club in practice.
Last season, the 24-year-old defenseman put up 11 goals and 33 points in his rookie NHL campaign, logging a little more than 18 minutes a night while helping the team win the Stanley Cup. With so much time missed during his holdout, a conditioning stint with AHL Chicago could be the safest route before he’s thrown into NHL action.
Taylor Hall was back on the ice with Carolina on Monday in a regular practice after missing time on the road trip because of an upper-body injury that sent him to injured reserve. He skated with Jordan Martinook and Seth Jarvis, who has two goals and three points in three games. Boston is set to visit the Lenovo Center tomorrow to play the Hurricanes.
In Other News...
Sabres Trade Chatter Just Put Their Goalie Plan In Focus
The goalie market can get noisy fast this time of year, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen just heard enough of it to need a direct word from the Sabres' front office. GM Jarmo Kekalainen has already stepped in to reassure him that he remains part of Buffalo's future, which matters because the chatter around young talent across the league can easily spill into speculation about almost anyone with value.
From Washington's perspective, the larger lesson is familiar: teams are listening, but they are not giving away core pieces without getting something meaningful back. The Capitals have already shown that with Ivan Miroshnichenko, and the same kind of discipline tends to define how clubs handle their most useful assets when the rumor mill starts spinning. For a team trying to balance immediate needs with long-term planning, those conversations tend to say as much about market value as they do about actual movement. [Read more 🡒]
Capitals Enter A Defining Week With Questions Still Lurking
The early returns have left Washington with a pretty solid but still incomplete picture. At 6-4-0, the Capitals have been competitive enough to keep the season moving in the right direction, but head coach Spencer Carbery is still working through lineup combinations and trying to get the team into a steadier rhythm as the schedule tightens.
A bigger concern is the way the injury list has started to shape the blue line and the crease. The Capitals are heading into a three-game stretch against Philadelphia, Nashville and Minnesota with Logan Thompson in a day-to-day situation, while Rasmus Sandin and Vincent Desharnais are both sidelined as the team tries to hold together its defensive structure through a defining week. [Read more 🡒]