Red Wings sign G James Reimer to 1-year deal at $1.5 million

The Detroit Red Wings have signed goaltender James Reimer:

James Reimer to the Red Wings: $1.5 million for next season.— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) July 1, 2023

James Reimer signs with @DetroitRedWings for 1 year, 1.5 AAV pic.twitter.com/X5tJ1qcb0A— Ray Petkau (@RayPetkau) July 1, 2023

James Reimer signs in Detroit.— James Mirtle (@mirtle) July 1, 2023

James Reimer is a bit older and he can at least back up Husso until Cossa is ready.

I think.

Don’t have that much “faith” in him, but we’ll see.— George Malik (@georgemalik) July 1, 2023

Reimer’s cheap and serviceable. That’s about it.— George Malik (@georgemalik) July 1, 2023

James Reimer, signed by the Red Wings for one year, $1.5 million according to his agent Ray Petkau, is coming off a down year but has a strong overall resume. Sv% ranged between .900 and .920 the six years preceding last, several of those in workloads above 35 games.— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) July 1, 2023

James Reimer ➡️ Detroit Red Wings
1 year, $1.5M contract

Another cheap goalie deal. Solid bet by the Red Wings here. pic.twitter.com/4ARbRWJTvO— Andy & Rono (@ARHockeyStats) July 1, 2023

James Reimer is signing with the Detroit Red Wings. pic.twitter.com/VvKD3vsjG8— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 1, 2023

The Detroit Red Wings have signed goaltender James Reimer to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. pic.twitter.com/WDNKQjw9vi— Complete Hockey News (@CompleteHkyNews) July 1, 2023

UPDATE: The #RedWings today signed goaltender James Reimer to a one-year contract with an AAV of $1,500,000. pic.twitter.com/XT2pjDc3Kb— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 1, 2023

MLive’s Ansar Khan confirms

Reimer, 35, went 12-21-8 with a 3.48 goals-against average and .890 save percentage with the San Jose Sharks last season.

Over 13 NHL seasons, he’s posted a record of 204-169-61, with a 2.87 GAA and .911 save percentage for four teams (Toronto, Florida, Carolina and San Jose).

The Red Wings were in the market for a backup goalie after opting not to re-sign Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg.

The Free Press’s Helene St. James also confirms:

The Detroit Red Wings added the goaltending help they needed with a short-term, low-risk option.

James Reimer, a 35-year-old with 476 NHL games to on his resume, was signed for one year and $1.5 million on the opening day for free agency. General manager Steve Yzerman said earlier in the week that adding at least one goaltender was a priority.

Reimer (6 foot 3, 205 pounds) projects to share the net with Ville Husso. The Wings had also scouted Antti Raanta and Joonas Korpisalo ahead of free agency, but Raanta stayed in Carolina for one year, $1.5 million and the Ottawa Senators committed five years and $20 million to Korpisalo.

Reimer signing elsewhere was known. It came out a while ago that the #SJSharks and he were going to part ways.

Read here: @TheHockeyNews https://t.co/wEdZVSJkqE— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) July 1, 2023

James Reimer is signing with the Detroit Red Wings. pic.twitter.com/VvKD3vsjG8— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 1, 2023

Here’s Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff

Looking to fill their need for a backup goaltender, the Detroit Red Wings went for a short-term solution in journeyman veteran James Reimer. The 35-year-old with 13 seasons of NHL experience was inking a one-year pact worth $1.5 million.

The club also was signing another journeyman goalie with NHL experience in Alex Lyon. He’s likely to play as the No. 1 netminder for Detroit’s AHL farm club the Grand Rapids Griffins. Lyon agreed to a two-year deal worth $900,000 per season.

These decisions were confirmation that the Wings were moving on from UFA goalies Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg, who were sharing the backup role behind Ville Husso last season.

The Red Wings will be Reimer’s fourth team over the past six seasons. He’s also played with the San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers over that span.

Reimer’s numbers have worsened through each of his past three campaigns. Last season with the Sharks, Reimer was posting career worsts in goals-against average (3.48) and save percentage (.890). His 21 losses were the most he’s suffered in a single season, while his 12 wins were the fewest for Reimer since he won nine games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2014-15.

Here’s the Reimer press release:

RED WINGS SIGN GOALTENDER JAMES REIMER TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT

  … 13-Year NHL Veteran Has Posted 204-169-61 Record in 476 Games With Maple Leafs, Sharks, Panthers and Hurricanes … 

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today signed goaltender James Reimer to a one-year contract with an average annual value of $1.5 million.

Reimer, 35, spent the 2022-23 season with the San Jose Sharks, posting a 12-21-8 record with a 3.48 goals-against average, an 0.890 save percentage and three shutouts in 43 appearances. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound netminder also played the 2021-22 season with the Sharks, logging a 19-17-10 record with a 2.90 goals-against average, a 0.911 save percentage and one shutout in 48 games. Originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round (99th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Reimer has compiled a 204-169-61 record with a 2.87 goals-against average, a 0.911 save percentage and 28 shutouts in 476 games with the Maple Leafs, Sharks, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes since 2010-11. He also logged a 24-15-3 record with a 2.44 goals-against average, a 0.920 save percentage and four shutouts in 44 games with the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies from 2008-11. Additionally, Reimer won a Kelly Cup championship with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays in 2009, earning the June M. Kelly Award as playoff MVP after posting a 2.17 goals-against average and a 0.929 save percentage in eight postseason contests.

Prior to turning professional, Reimer played three seasons with the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels from 2005-08, showing a 41-56-14 record with a 2.72 goals-against average, a 0.912 save percentage and four shutouts in 124 appearances. A native of Morweena, Manitoba, Reimer competed for Team Canada at the 2014 IIHF World Championship, posting a 3-1-0 record with a 2.20 goals-against average, a 0.911 save percentage in four games. Reimer also represented his country at the 2012 IIHF World Championship, owning a 3-0-0 record with a 2.04 goals-against average and a 0.920 save percentage in four appearances.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

2 thoughts on “Red Wings sign G James Reimer to 1-year deal at $1.5 million”

  1. Nice to see you back George! Not a fan of the Reimer signing though, he looks like a high mileage version of Ned.

  2. Awful signing. Not only is this guy washed up, but also a bigot. Last offseason I had my first question marks about the Yzerplan, but after what we’ve done so far (including the average draft) I’m honestly close to jumping off the bandwagon. Absolutely zero scoring on this team and yet we continue to sign over the hill washed up d-man, goalie and more depth players.

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