Sharks goalie Reimer hoped to contend for a Stanley Cup
Nick Bonino is a Pittsburgh Penguin again. Vladislav Namestnikov is with the Winnipeg Jets.
But after the NHL's trade deadline Friday, Erik Karlsson and James Reimer both remained with the San Jose Sharks, joined by top prospect William Eklund, who was recalled from the AHL.
While Karlsson staying in San Jose wasn't a surprise, Reimer, in his 13th NHL season, was disappointed he won't get a chance this year to compete for his first Stanley Cup.
“Obviously the goal is to win a Cup and it's been the goal since I was three years old,” said Reimer, a pending unrestricted free agent who turns 35 next week. “So, it's unfortunate it didn't come to fruition. Obviously, that's every guy's dream in here.”
Sharks general manager Mike Grier said after both Joonas Korpisalo and Jonathan Quick were traded in recent days, there wasn't a huge market left for other goalies. Reimer, too, has been inconsistent this season, sporting a career-low .892 save percentage in 32 games with a 9-16-6 record. Reimer's two-year contract with the Sharks, signed in July 2021, has an average annual value of $2.25 million.
“Once (Korpisalo and Quick) went, there was only so many teams that were looking for goalies,” Grier said. “And it's not so easy
for everyone to squeeze salary in at this time of year, too. Add all that in together and it's tough to make it happen for a lot of goalies.”
“As far as I know, (Grier) made an effort,” Reimer said, “but nothing worked out.”
Grier said there was also interest from other teams in Bonino, another pending UFA. He added, though, that once that the Penguins got involved, he wanted to do what he could to return Bonino to the organization with which he won Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.
The Sharks, in a threeteam trade that included the Montreal Canadiens, ended up with a seventh-round draft pick this year and the rights to defenseman Arvid Henrikson, 25, now a senior at Lake Superior State.
Although the return on the Bonino trade was modest, Grier said he wanted to do right by the veteran forward.
“We have a lot of respect for (Bonino),” Grier said. “What he's done in here with the group and the young players, kind of helping establish the standard and identity in the room, that he deserved to have a say in where what he wanted to do, whether that was go or stay or which team he wanted to go to.
“We're happy and I think Nick's happy, and I think that it worked out for everyone.”
The Sharks got a 2025
fourth-round draft pick from the Jets for Namestnikov, a veteran forward who was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday for winger Mikey Eyssimont.
With Bonino and Namestnikov gone, the Sharks recalled Eklund, their 2021 first round draft pick who has 41 points in 52 games with the San Jose Barracuda.
Eklund, 20, played nine games with the Sharks at the start of last season before he was returned to Djurgardens of the Swedish Hockey League. He is expected to be in the lineup for tonight's game.
“It'll be like the first time I think,” Eklund said of playing at the Shark Tank again. “It's one thing that I've missed a lot, being able to step on the ice at SAP Center. It's going to be really fun.”