As the final buzzer sounded and he raised his eyes to the roof of the Scotiabank Place Saturday night, the members of Leafs Nation were likely all thinking the same thought.
He’s back!!!!!
Goaltender James Reimer followed up his first victory since Christmas against Pittsburgh Wednesday with a sparkling 49 save performance in a 5-0 win over the Ottawa Senators.
The effort was the sophomore goaltender’s second straight shutout performance and appears to have reestablished him as the Leafs number one goaltender for the time being.
With the exception of the last 10 minutes of the third period in Pittsburgh last Tuesday, Toronto has emerged from the All-Star break as if shot out of a cannon, earning five of a possible six points and climbing to within one point of their provincial rivals with three games in hand.
The addition of defenseman John-Michael Liles has improved the effectiveness of the Leafs power play, which scored two goals last night and veteran Colby Armstrong has brought some much-needed sandpaper and savvy up front, but the apparent return of Reimer to his pre-injury form could have the most impact for the Leafs playoff aspirations.
It is only two games and future starts will prove whether this is just a momentary blip, but if the club can continue to emulate the success achieved during the second half of last season with Reimer as the mainstay in net, it could open up a few more avenues of improvement for GM Brian Burke.
The talk regarding negotiations with the agent for center Mikhail Grabovski has been foremost in the news recently, but there has been nary a mention of any contract talks regarding Jonas Gustavsson, who is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
While the question of whether Reimer can perform at a high level consistently is still up in the air, the Leafs would not dare to entertain the possibility of shopping “The Monster”, but if he gets the majority of the starts over the next few weeks and plays well, do not be surprised if Gustavsson’s name starts popping up in trade rumors.
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The Columbus Blue Jackets are now at the epicenter of the NHL rumor mill as news this weekend about forwards Rick Nash and Jeff Carter makes the chances of one or both being traded not out of the realm of possibility.
Sportsnet’s John Shannon reported on Saturday that those close to the Jackets star winger indicated that he would be open to the possibility of being traded and would waive his no trade clause, but that he was not demanding to be moved.
HNIC’s Eric Francis reported information conveyed by Carter’s agent, Rick Curran, that his client does not have a no-trade clause on his contract:
As cited by capgeek.com — the best source for player contract information — Carter’s original 11-year, $ 58-million contract with Philadelphia had a no trade clause from 2012 to 2015 (and a limited one thereafter). However, the no-trade clause was to have kicked in on his 27th birthday, which was Jan. 1. Because he was traded by the Flyers before his birthday, the no-trade clause doesn’t “travel,” and he’s free to be traded by the Blue Jackets at any time if they so desire.
The revelation regarding Nash is rather interesting in the wake of the rumor reported last week by AM640’s Bill Watters. A major move for a player like Nash is not something that can be put together in a few days, but Toronto would appear to be well-positioned if Columbus decides to shop him.
One important factor in the possibility of making the move for either Nash or Carter is the potential cost of signing Grabovski to a contract extension before the trade deadline. HNIC’s Glenn Healy indicated that based on his performance, the Leafs center was a comparable to Montreal forward Tomas Plekanec, who was signed for a long term deal at $ 5 million per season.
It is unlikely that Toronto would choose to pay Grabovski that amount. Unless he is willing to take a more cap friendly deal to stay with the Leafs as Liles did, you can expect Burke to step up his efforts to acquire a top six forward and then move Grabovski in exchange for prospects and/or draft picks.
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Don’t expect the Leafs to acquire Carolina forward Tuomo Ruutu before February 27th, unless the price comes down drastically. Canes GM Jim Rutherford is trying to get the pending UFA signed to an extension, as he did with veteran blueliner Tim Gleason last week, but if he is unable to, the asking price for the 28 year old forward is said to be a first round pick. While being an effective two way forward who does not shy away from the rough going, Ruutu is likely a rent-a-player anywhere he goes and giving up a top pick for 20 to 30 games is not a move that Burke will make.
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