It's something of a hockey cliché to say that a goaltender that performed incredibly well and kept his team in the game even while being peppered with a seemingly endless number of quality chances, "stood on his head."
Despite the tired nature of the phrase, there seems to be no better way to describe the efforts of Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender James Reimer on Wednesday night against the Detroit Red Wings.
The 26-year-old Reimer, who stopped 41 shots and stole the Leafs two points, is now 5-3-0 on the season with a .908 save percentage and a 3.31 goals against average after the 2-1 victory.
But despite the fantastic effort against Detroit, Reimer will continue to operate as the backup to Jonathan Bernier in Toronto. Bernier is also only 26, and has a better save percentage (.918) and goals against average (2.63) despite starting 11 more games.
Could the Leafs -- slowly but surely returning themselves to the postseason conversation -- move Reimer, who is in the second-to-last year of his contract, in an effort to improve the club elsewhere? And if so, what teams would have interest in the talented netminder?
"Well, I can think of one team and it's obvious. It's the Edmonton Oilers," TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger said while appearing on Montreal's TSN 690 as transcribed by NicholsOnHockey.com. "Every time I talk to somebody in Edmonton, they tell me that, 'Look, stop talking about the need for a center. That's obvious. Stop talking about the need for a defenseman. That's obvious. The top priority for this club is a goaltender.'"
Edmonton is currently 29th in the league in goals per game. Their defense is poor, but goaltenders, Viktor Fasth and Ben Scrivens, have both been a serious part of the issue.
Scrivens currently has a 3.32 goals against average and .886 save percentage. Fasth is only slightly better with a 3.11 goals against average and a .896 save percentage.
What would it take for the goalie-needy Oilers and general manager Craig MacTavish to pry Reimer from Leafs general manager Randy Carlyle's hands?
"They still think they need some help up front. Open to ideas in their top nine. And also in their top six," Dreger said. "They're always in search of that centreman, but I think they can be categorized with a lot of teams who have visions of this Ryan Getzlaf-type of centreman landing in their lap, and that's not going to happen.
"Maybe a good young prospect and a juicy draft pick might get it done."
The Leafs are also interested in a defenseman, but the blueline-bare Oilers probably wouldn't be able to help them there unless they were willing to part with a player like Justin Schultz and quite a bit more.
