In a move that could be seen as pure desperation, the New York Rangers have signed 38-year-old veteran goalie James Reimer to a PTO contract with their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The Rangers, who suffered a tremendous, crippling blow when their MVP starting goalie Igor Shesterkin recently suffered a season-ending lower-body injury, have quite a few options to ponder in acquiring a solid goalie. Still, with all due respect to Reimer, who has had a solid 16-year career, this would not be the right fit.
James Reimer Signs PTO with Wolf Pack
Despite missing the playoffs last season in a forgettable 77-point campaign, the Rangers do have some tremendous talent in the likes of forwards Alexis Lafreniere, Mika Zibanejad, Gabe Perreault, Will Cuylle and defenseman Adam Fox, to name a few, which makes them a prime candidate to rebound this season.
Naturally, as all hockey fans know, goaltending is the most important position. With Shesterkin sidelined, they should do whatever it takes to trade for an active goalie with an established track record who can come in immediately and help out. Some prime candidates include Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues), John Gibson (Detroit Red Wings) and Connor Hellebuyck.
Again, Reimer, who has played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators, where he totalled 232 wins, 32 shutouts and a 2.88 GAA, has not had a training camp this year and only played 14 games last year with the Senators. He has been at home this fall and would need a lot of practice time with the Wolf Pack.
Last season, it looked like Reimer’s career was over, but things changed when, on January 9, 2026, he was offered and accepted a PTO with the Sens AAA squad, the Belleville Senators. Reimer ended up playing one game before, three days later, getting called up to the Senators. Despite going 7-4-2 with one shutout, a 2.42 GAA and an .886 save percentage with the Sens, he wasn’t re-signed or picked up by another team over the summer.
Rangers Should Take A Chance on Blues Goalie Jordan Binnington
For quite a few years, Binnington was extremely popular with the St. Louis fans.
Binnington, who was drafted in 2011 88th overall by the Blues, had a storybook beginning to his NHL career, which, upon being called up in the 2018-19 season, made a statement and never looked back as he went 24-5-1 in 32 games, where he registered five shutouts along with a 1.89 GAA and .927 save percentage.
Things got even better that spring when Binnington made hockey history by becoming the first rookie goalie to win all 16 games in leading the Blues to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Though things haven’t always been smooth for Binnington, who has at times dealt with wildly inconsistent play along with a fiery temper, the fact remains that he still comes through in clutch situations
Besides playing a major role in helping St. Louis capture the Stanley Cup, Binnington, who is now 33 years old, also came up big when, in 2025, he went 3-1 with a 2.37 GAA and .907 save percentage in leading Team Canada to a 4 Nations Face-Off gold medal win.
After years of being the Blues’ undisputed number one goalie, it’s now 26-year-old Joel Hofer who has moved into that position. So far, Hofer in five games has a 2-2-1 record with one shutout along with a 2.43 GAA and .906 save percentage.
Meanwhile, Binnington has, in three games, a 1-2 record with a 4.68 GAA and .831 save percentage. Binnington is in the final year of a six-year $36,000,000 contract, and more than likely will be traded sometime this season.
While his stats aren’t very good after three games, this veteran might just need a change of scenery, as he showed last winter at the 4 Nations and even the Olympics, where he helped Canada win silver; he is still indeed capable of being a solid clutch goaltender.
Red Wings Netminder John Gibson Could Be Available
Detroit Red Wings netminder Gibson, who is 33 years old, is in the final year of his contract and will more than likely be traded sometime this season.
Gibson, who is in his second season with the Red Wings, is playing on a rebuilding team that, after eight starts, sits with a 3-3-2 record. More than likely, the Wings will once again miss the playoffs, and chances are Gibson isn’t in the team’s future given that the Wings are, as mentioned above, a rebuilding team.
Another reason why Gibson would more than likely be available in a trade is that Detroit’s other goalie, 27-year-old Daniil Tarasov, has made an early impression by going 1-0-1 with a shutout, a 0.80 GAA and a .965 save percentage in his first three games.
Prior to playing two years with the Red Wings, Gibson played for the Ducks, where he produced 231 wins with his best season coming in 2017-18 when he went 31-18-7 with four shutouts, a 2.43 GAA and a .926 save percentage.
Could Winnipeg Jets Goalie Connor Hellebuyck be Traded to the Rangers?
As all hockey fans know, Winnipeg Jets All-Star goalie Hellebuyck has been a season-long holdout.
Since last summer, when the three- time Vezina Trophy winner went public with a trade request, the Rangers were one of several teams who were rumoured to be interested. Immediately after that October 9th game when Shesterkin was injured against the Washington Capitals, those rumours of Hellebuyck being traded to New York immediately picked up steam.
While Hellebuyck is a future Hall of Famer and a three-time All-Star, what would make this deal tricky for New York is that Hellebuyck still has five years remaining on his contract (8.5 million AAV), which means that when Shesterkin comes back next year, it wouldn’t work given that someone would not be happy with their playing time. Also, with Shesterkin’s salary, that is too much money for a team to spend on their goaltending.
Though he hasn’t won the Stanley Cup, Hellebuyck proved he can excel on the big stage when, last February at the 2026 Winter Olympics, he led Team USA to their first men’s hockey gold medal since 1980 in Lake Placid.
Hellebuyck, who was named the 2026 Olympic tournament’s best goaltender, finished 5-0-0 with a 1.18 GAA and .956 save percentage.
The Last Word
Presently, the Rangers have received a standout performance from rookie goalie Dylan Garand, who is 3-2-1 with one shutout, along with a 1.82 GAA and a .927 save percentage.
Last season, Garand got a taste of the NHL and looked solid as he went 2-0-1 with a 1.62 GAA and a .948 save percentage in three games.
Meanwhile, backup Joonas Korpisalo, who was traded this off-season from the Boston Bruins to the Rangers, is still day-to-day with a lower body injury.
Only time will tell what moves the Rangers make with their goaltending. That said, they need someone who can step in right away and be solid for a Rangers team that, if all goes right, can win a couple of playoff rounds. Reimer, who was basically retired before the Rangers reached out to him, is not the right goalie for that.
Main Image: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
