James Reimer is an extremely trusted and highly regarded backup goalie who, last season at age 37, had some big games for the Ottawa Senators.
This beloved 16-year NHL veteran—who, in addition to Ottawa, has played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and the Anaheim Ducks—seemed ready last year to call it a career. That was until he was offered, and signed, a PTO contract on January 8, 2026, with the Senators’ AAA affiliate, the Belleville Senators.
After only one game with Belleville, Reimer continued to defy Father Time. On January, 18th the Senators called him up, which was followed by a solid run that saw the veteran goalie go 14-7-2 in 14 games, with one shutout, a 2.42 GAA, and a 0.886 save percentage.
Reimer enjoyed his finest hour playing for the Senators on March 9, 2026, when he was perfect, stopping all 16 shots in the team’s 2-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
“You’re always grateful. I mean, obviously, I’m filled with a ton of gratitude for the opportunity to play… and for this organization to give me the chance and believe in me,” Reimer said at the time. ” I think every (win) is special, and it’s the best league in the world, and so when you get to have a shutout, it’s a testament to how we played tonight. But obviously, it’s fun when it happens.”
After serving as a steady backup, Reimer’s contract wasn’t renewed by Ottawa for this season. Remaining unsigned through the summer and into the fall, Reimer’s career increasingly seemed to be coming to an end until New York Rangers star goalie Igor Shesterkin suffered a season-ending lower-body injury on October 9 against the Washington Capitals.
As a result, the Blue Shirts improved their goaltending depth by signing Reimer on October 15 to a PTO contract with the Rangers’ AAA affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Reimer couldn’t have asked for a better start when, on October 23 at Peoples Bank Arena, he made history with a 35-save performance in a 2-0 win against the Providence Bruins.
This wasn’t just an ordinary run-of-the-mill shutout. At 38, Reimer became the oldest goalie to record an AHL shutout, behind Wade Flaherty (40), who earned his latest on March 13, 2008.
“He was really the guy that kept us in it and allowed us to battle,” Wolf Pack head coach Jay Leach said about Reimer. “He did a terrific job keeping us in (the game). He was the guy that kind of allowed us to find our way.”
Two days after that shutout win, Reimer signed with the Rangers and a day later found himself back in the NHL as a New York Ranger playing at Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately, the October 26th game didn’t have a Hollywood feel-good ending.
Unfortunately for fans, Reimer surrendered three goals on eight first-period shots before being pulled after the first period in an eventual 6-3 loss against the Los Angeles Kings.
Despite being pulled, Rangers coach Mike Sullivan still expressed confidence in the veteran goalie and what he could offer.
“We feel, just based on our discussion with our goalie coaches both in Hartford and here, that Reims is in a position and he’s ready to go in the net and help us win,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. “He obviously has a significant body of work in the league. He’s been a quality goalie.”
It was later revealed that Reimer had sustained an upper-body injury.
Unfortunately, the news didn’t get any better. Shortly afterwards, on November 5, Reimer was put on waivers by the Rangers.
You can bet that Senators fans are following, wondering if this might be it for the popular veteran goalie.
Photo: Courtesy CNBC
