Rangers waive James Reimer, place Sean Durzi on injured reserve
Some roster moves on Broadway as an Original Six team prepares for an upcoming road trip.
On Thursday, the New York Rangers placed goaltender James Reimer on waivers, making him available to the other 31 teams in the NHL. The team also put defenseman Sean Durzi on injured reserve.
If Reimer clears waivers on Friday, he’ll be eligible to return to the Rangers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. He’s expected to back up Dylan Garand in Thursday night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, but with Joonas Korpisalo nearing a return to the lineup, the Rangers need to make room on their roster.
Reimer signed a one-year contract with the Rangers last month, giving the team some depth at goaltending amid injury woes to Korpisalo and Igor Shesterkin. He’s dressed in four games, only making one start. That came last Monday, when he gave up three goals on eight shots against the Los Angeles Kings before being pulled after the first period.
The 38-year-old’s cap hit is a prorated $850,000. He has already played one game for the Wolf Pack, a 35-save shutout against the Providence Bruins on Oct. 23.
Durzi’s placement on IR is retroactive to Oct. 26, when he was in the lineup in a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He’s been plagued with an undisclosed injury that has forced him to miss the past two games, with the Rangers expecting the 28-year-old to miss even more time, as he’s not going to be joining the team on its upcoming four-game road trip through the Pacific Division, which begin on Saturday with a matchup against the Seattle Kraken.
In 14 games this season, the Mississauga, Ont. native has scored two goals and five points, with a plus/minus of -1 while averaging 19:52 of ice time per game. He was traded to the Rangers this past offseason by the Utah Mammoth as part of the deal that saw Vincent Trocheck sent to Utah.
The Rangers (8-7-1) sit third in the Metropolitan Division, nine points back of the first-place Carolina Hurricanes.
