Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
So:
Stalock and Smith have no future with the Leafs.
And all we got for Reimer was a lousy 4th.
Oh wait, we gave them Morin too. He has no value whatsoever, right? Except, well, Doug Wilson seems to think he might have a future with the organization.
So, even if one were to accept all this revisionist talk about how Reimer couldn't possibly have brought us more than a bag of pucks, doesn't this mean we traded Morin for a 4th?
Now I'll stand back and listen as people tell me that's all he was worth.
I certainly won't purport to change your well-considered position.
But if the reports are that Reimer's agent asked for $6. million for 6 years (even if that was the initial position and may have been modified thereafter), and if it is the case that there wasn't one single team in the NHL willing to trade for Reimer aside from San Jose, then really, what could the Leafs have expected to get for him? And what could they have gained by protracted contract talks in the summer with his agent?
Reimer was not a number 1 goalie at the start of the year in Toronto. He only got all of his games because Bernier has been, by and large, statistically the 2nd worst goaltender in the NHL this year. And Reimer, last year, did not play well. In fact, when Bernier got hurt at the end of the year, I don't think Reimer got one win in about his last 9 games or so. And notwithstanding its significance, Reimer had the worst goals-against average of any goalie in the NHL over the last 2 years, as I think I indicated was reported one recent game.
The Leafs have basically decided to go in a different direction with the goaltending, and arguably long term. That may very well be a good thing as Bernier and Reimer together have not been good enough.
And notwithstanding Reimer's quality as a person, and disposition, and reportedly being a good guy with his teammates, he has never had a good glove hand, and his rebound control has been pretty mediocre, and his puck-handling skills have always been poor. And when he has let in weak goals, especially between his legs, or over his glove, it seems to have really deflated the Leafs, understandably.
Good luck to James in San Jose. But if he and/or his agent think that his value on the market this summer will be, say, $5 million over 4 years, I suggest that it will be California dreaming (literally) for him. In fact, I have seen some suggest that he would be a good fit in Winnipeg. He has never played well there, and the fans are derisive of his play, (anecdotally I know a couple of season ticket holders there who watch every game and say that he has looked so poor there that not one fan that they have spoken to would ever want him traded to the Jets). It may very well be the case that he simply isn't good enough to be a number 2 there or perhaps most teams in the NHL.
