Hurricanes need to end the James Reimer experiment
The Carolina Hurricanes need to move on from James Reimer after he had yet another rough start, this time against the lowly Ottawa Senators.
The Carolina Hurricanes traded for James Reimer this summer in hopes of replacing Curtis McElhinney, who did a great job as their backup last season. They also did it to part ways with Scott Darling. Reimer, however, hasn’t been playing well at all.
He has a 2-4-0 record as a starter with the Canes. Reimer had yet another rough start on Saturday night against the lowly Ottawa Senators, stopping 26 of 30 shots on goal. So far this season, he has a .901% save percentage. But even that’s a little bit deceiving because Reimer hasn’t had a save percentage of over .900% in any of his last three starts.
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
This isn’t just a stretch of bad games, either. Reimer’s stats have been declining for a while. Let’s take a look at his save percentage per season.
- 2016-17: .920%
- 2017-18: .913%
- 2018-19: .900%
- 2019-20: .901%
Reimer has struggled mightily to stop high-danger chances. Every goalie does. But not to the degree Reimer has. Since the start of last season, among goalies with at least 1,400 minutes at 5v5, he has the worst high-danger save percentage in the NHL. Reimer also has the sixth-lowest 5v5 save percentage.
To his credit, he started the season remarkably well. In Reimer’s first two starts with the Hurricanes, he beat the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers, who are two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
However, since then, he has lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks, New Jersey Devils, and Ottawa Senators. Only one of those teams (the Ducks) are even close to being in the playoffs. A backup goalie needs to be reliable, especially if they’re expected to be a part of a tandem, which is what the Hurricanes have.
To be fair, it’s not like Petr Mrazek is impressing either. He has a .904% save percentage in 11 starts. However, Mrazek’s allowing 2.56 goals per game while Reimer’s allowing 3.10. Both goalies have two years left on their contracts, which isn’t ideal. But given Mrazek’s more recent track record of success, Reimer would be the logical choice to go.
The Hurricanes have two options in the AHL. First, there’s Anton Forsberg, who’s the more experienced option. In 45 career NHL games, he has a .901% save percentage. Though Forsberg has just a .890% save percentage in the AHL this season, last season, he posted a .919% save percentage in 37 games.
Their other option is young goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. Much like Forsberg, he’s struggling early, as he has a .885% save percentage in six AHL games so far this season. However, Nedeljkovic posted a .916% save percentage just last year.
Next. NHL Power Rankings. dark
Albert Einstein is credited with saying, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”. How much longer can the Hurricanes stick with Reimer before losing their sanity?