Red Wings Sign Goalie Reimer

The Detroit Red Wings’ made a pair of moves to shore up their goaltending on Saturday, the first being the signing of veteran James Reimer to a one-year, $1.5 million deal that was confirmed by the goalie’s agent.

James Reimer signs with @DetroitRedWings for 1 year, 1.5 AAV pic.twitter.com/X5tJ1qcb0A

— Ray Petkau (@RayPetkau) July 1, 2023

I’m just going to say it: I don’t like this move.  Reimer is 35, had a 3.48 GAA last year and a .890 save percentage, and the hope is that he gets back to his career average 2.87 GAA/.911 save percentage as he continues to age.  And that’s without mentioning any off-ice reasoning.

The upside, as I see it, is that the signing comes alongside the as-of-yet-unannounced deal for Alex Lyon.  That seemingly gives the Red Wings a Reimer/Lyon battle for the backup spot, with the loser serving as the “veteran mentor” for Sebastian Cossa with the Grand Rapids Griffins.  If Lyon wins that battle, Reimer is exiled to Grand Rapids, where maybe he can also be outplayed by Cossa, and then I don’t have to worry about him as much.