Wolf Pack sign James Reimer to professional tryout agreement

A longtime NHL netminder could be on the road to playing for the New York Rangers this season.

On Thursday, the Rangers’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack announced that they have signed goaltender James Reimer to a professional tryout agreement (PTO).

Despite a strong 6-2-0 start to their season, the Rangers goaltending situation is currently in shambles. Joonas Korpisalo, New York’s backup coming into the year, was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury on October 1. Then, on October 10, starter and 2022 Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin was announced as out for the season with a lower-body injury. Without their top two goalies, the Rangers have turned to 24-year-old Dylan Garand to start their last two games.

With a need for experience between the pipes, New York could be looking at Reimer as a potentially stabilizing option if he catches on in Hartford.

Reimer, 38, made 13 starts and 14 appearances for the Ottawa Senators last season, posting a 7-4-2 record with a .886 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average.

Selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Reimer broke into the NHL in the 2010-11 season, putting up a 20-10-5 record in 35 starts for Toronto to go along with a .921 SV% and a 2.60 GAA.

His career-best campaign probably came in the 2012-13 season, in which he went 19-8-5 in 31 starts with a .924 SV% and a 2.46 GAA while helping the Leafs make the playoffs.

Including his five-plus years in Toronto, the Morweena, Manitoba native has played for eight teams over 16 NHL seasons. He has compiled 492 starts and 539 appearances in his career, sporting a 232-191-67 record, a .909 SV%, and a 2.87 GAA.

The Rangers visit the New Jersey Devils on Thursday for the first of back-to-back road games.