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It's been speculated for some length of time, but Darren Dreger confirmed on TSN's broadcast of Wednesday's Toronto and Tampa Bay game that back-up goaltender James Reimer would likely be requesting a trade this summer.
It's an interesting dynamic, if true, as to what the Toronto Maple Leafs do with their goaltending situation this off-season. The team has seemed to prefer Jonathan Bernier over James Reimer in sort of a 1A/1B set-up this year, but down the stretch, the team's really leaned on the former. Only an injury to Bernier has paved the way for Reimer to pick up a few starts in succession, and it hasn't been the best of showings for a goaltender who has identified as a starter for a large portion of his career.
There's a very good chance Reimer's run of play of late is simply a blip on the radar, not indicative of his .915 career average since entering the league a few years ago. Still, Tuesday's game -- one where he conceded three goals to the Detroit Red Wings -- prompted an interesting comment from Randy Carlyle about his play, and consequently, a few pointed comments from Reimer's agent (below).
Reimer's agent later denied that those comments were about Reimer himself, but went on in a public release to implicitly suggest that the off-season would bring about change.
This of course begs the question: assuming that James Reimer's going to be made available in the off-season, at what cost is he moved? And, what city is the most likely in need of a young starting goaltender?
Winnipeg and Long Island strike me as two obvious locations. Any others?
Thanks for reading!