Reimer waits as deadline draws close
Veteran goalie could go to a contender by Friday
Goalie James Reimer was traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Sharks on Feb. 28, 2016, going from a team at the bottom of the NHL standings to one that was primed for a deep Stanley Cup playoff run.
Seven years later, similar circumstances exist. Just like in 2016, Reimer, now 34, is again a pending unrestricted free agent and on a team that's near the bottom of the league standings, and there's a chance he could get traded to a Cup contender looking for a steady veteran backup.
Reimer's trying to put it out of his mind as much as he can.
“If you're not thinking about it then that means you're not human,” Reimer said this week of Friday's trade deadline.
“When you're here, you play. When you're done, you think about it a little bit through the day, but you can't let it overtake you.”
Reimer is one of the Sharks' pending UFAs, with forward Nick Bonino also on an expiring contract. Sharks general manager Mike Grier has already completed a massive trade, sending Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils for a cadre of players and draft picks, but could also try to deal Reimer or Bonino, or both, to help recoup assets before both players can walk away for nothing this summer.
Although there doesn't appear to be a big trade market for goalies right now, Reimer could still draw interest at the 11th hour. Despite a statistically down season, Reimer has a .914 career save percentage, including a .905 save percentage in 78 games with the Sharks since the start of the 2021-2022 season.
Other goalie rental options right now include Ottawa's Cam Talbot
and Columbus' Joonas Korpisalo.
Reimer signed a twoyear, $4.5 million deal with the Sharks as a free agent in July 2021.
“They have a plan, and they're going to go about executing their plan,” Reimer said of the Sharks' front office. “What I do know about (Grier) and this management is that they care about the city and they care about the organization. If they trade pieces, it's to make our club better. You just try not to read too much into it. They're the ones that have the big picture.”
Regardless of what happens by Friday, Reimer said he would “seriously consider” re-signing with the Sharks for next season, assuming there is mutual interest.
Kaapo Kahkonen, who started Tuesday's game with the Montreal Canadiens, is the only goalie with sizeable NHL experience signed through next season. But Grier might be looking to make significant changes at the position with the Sharks' team save percentage of .884 ranking 30th out of 32 teams before
Tuesday's games.
SHARKS' NEWEST FORWARDS DEBUT VS. MONTREAL >> The Sharks plan to fill the void left by Timo Meier — at least for the moment — with two of the players they received as part of this week's blockbuster trade with the New Jersey Devils.
Swedish-born forwards Andreas Johnsson and Fabian Zetterlund started on the top line with center Tomas Hertl against Montreal. Meier, with 31 goals this year, had been Hertl's left winger for most of the season before Sunday's trade.
Johnsson and Zetterlund, part of the haul of players and draft picks the Sharks acquired Sunday when they dealt Meier and defenseman Scott Harrington to the New Jersey Devils, traveled to San Jose on Monday, eager for a fresh start.
Harrington was placed on waivers by the Devils on Monday and claimed by the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
Zetterlund, 23, averaged about 13 minutes per game with the Devils this season, with 20 points in 45 games in what is his fourth year of North American professional hockey. Johnsson, 28, has spent most of this season with Utica of the
AHL, but has 248 games of NHL experience.
“I'm just excited to get a new opportunity,” said Johnsson, who has only played in two NHL games this season, both in December. “I was excited to pack my bags and get here and now play right away. So it's been quick, but I've been looking forward to it.”
Asked about playing with Hertl right now, Johnsson said, “he's a superstar in this league, so to get to play with him, it's going to be fun and hopefully it goes well.”
“Something new,” Hertl said. “For sure, a new system and everything but they seem like great guys and looking forward to (it). Hopefully, we have some fun and score some goals. Hopefully, I can help them a little more.”
Zetterlund is a restricted free agent but figures to be a part of the Sharks' plans going forward, perhaps more so than pending UFA Johnsson. General manager Mike Grier could bring Johnsson back for next season, but it would likely have to be at a much lower cap hit than the $3.4 million he's making now. Johnsson signed a four-year, $13.6 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs in June 2019 after a 20-goal, 43-point season,
but was traded to New Jersey in October 2020.
“The guy scored 20 goals in this league not too long ago. He's a legitimate NHL player,” Sharks coach David Quinn said of Johnsson.
Quinn said the feedback he got from Devils coach Lindy Ruff on Zetterlund was that he's a “hard-nosed kid who plays on the inside. He's built like a Mack truck. He can skate, he can shoot it, and he was sorry to see him go.”
ANOTHER TRADE >> The Sharks on Tuesday acquired defenseman Henry Thrun, now a senior at Harvard, from the Anaheim Ducks for a 2024 third-round draft pick.
Thrun, a fourth-round draft pick by Anaheim in 2019, was reportedly not going to sign a contract with the Ducks and as a college player four years removed from the draft, can become a UFA on Aug. 15 if he remains unsigned. In three seasons with the Crimson, Thrun has 79 points in 94 games and was part of the Americans' gold medal-winning team at the 2021 World Junior Championships.
LABANC A NEW DAD >> Kevin Labanc missed Tuesday's morning skate as his wife, Kelly, gave birth to the couple's first child, Eric Milan Labanc, on Monday.