Detroit’s James Reimer could be an appealing low-cost goaltending option at the deadline

Much has been made of the state of the NHL goaltending market leading up to this year’s trade deadline.

Numerous prospective contending teams have glaring weaknesses in goal. And while many other teams out of the race have appealing goaltenders who could be available, most of them — such as Jacob Markstrom, Elvis Merzlikins, Jake Allen, and Karel Vejmelka — have term remaining on their contracts.

It is unusual for non-rental goaltenders to be moved partway through an NHL season. That’s not to say that it can’t happen (Roberto Luongo was a notable example), but it often doesn’t. That’s just the way it is.

Conversely, this year’s crop of pending UFA goaltenders isn’t particularly strong. One of the more notable names on the list is the Detroit Red Wings’ James Reimer, who, at 35, has appeared in just 14 games this season while making a $1.5 million salary.

Reimer is 4-6-2 with an .894 save percentage and one shutout with this year’s Red Wings team. On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discussed the potential value Reimer might hold to the Red Wings in a deadline deal.

Tyler Yaremchuk: I think that with their play of late, the Detroit Red Wings have established Steve Yzerman should be a buyer. You know, they’ve made a good case, at least. But they have this three-goalie logjam themselves with James Reimer, Alex Lyon, and Ville Husso. Do you think there’s a chance the Red Wings — again, there’s not that many other goalies on the market — maybe they get tempted to ship out Reimer and then use those assets for something else?

Frank Seravalli: Yeah, I think that’s entirely a possibility, I just — how big of a return could we be talking about? Alex Lyon is clearly the guy, he’s saved their season. Detroit’s been on a run and it’s been incredibly impressive what they’ve done really since the calendar turned to 2024. But for Reimer, we’re probably talking a mid-round pick at this pick — a fourth? It’s not gonna be enough to flip somewhere else.

Watch the full episode here: