Brophy on Reimer: The honeymoon is over
Posted January 18, 2012 8:53 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The magic has disappeared.
The wonderful story that was James Reimer coming out of nowhere to very nearly become the Toronto Maple Leafs savior a year ago is over. The final chapter has been written. It ended one night in Montreal early in the season when he suffered a concussion.
From this point forward Reimer is just another goalie trying to prove he belongs in the NHL – which makes him no different than the majority of stoppers who get paid to block pucks. Except that he’s just so darn likeable.
Oh, and by the way, if Leafs GM Brian Burke isn’t seriously considering seeking upgrade in goal with the trade deadline quickly approaching, he had better reconsider his priorities.
On a night when the Maple Leafs were trying to get themselves back into the top eight in the Eastern Conference, goaltending was the difference in a 3-2 Toronto loss. If you are counting, that’s three in a row for the Leafs who have fallen to ninth place in the East. The Leafs play Minnesota at home Thursday before hosting Montreal Saturday and the New York Islanders Monday.
Leafs coach Ron Wilson suggested last week his approach to who would start in goal was basically, win and you stay in. Then Jonas Gustavsson lost last Friday in Buffalo, yet The Monster started the next night at home against the Rangers.
What, no Reimer?
That should tell you all you need to know about how much faith the Leafs coaching staff has lost in Reimer. Sure they’ll say they went with Gustavsson because he was not responsible for the defeat to the Sabres, but if they really believed Reimer would have given them a chance to beat the Rangers at home, they would have started him.
Finally, after back-to-back losses by Gustavsson, the Leafs really had no choice but to start Reimer.
It was not Reimer’s most memorable performance.
Even after his team spotted him a 2-0 lead in the first period, Reimer couldn’t hold on to win his first game since defeating the lowly New York Islanders Dec. 23. In fact the first shot Reimer faced didn’t go in, but it was a pretty good indicator of what was to come. Ottawa’s Zack Smith zipped a snap shot in Reimer’s direction that traveled over his trapper and hit the crossbar at 1:38.
It looked like a routine shot – one that Reimer faces a thousand times daily in practice – but it beat him.
The game-winner by Kyle Turris was a similar shot – high to the glove side – that was infinitely stoppable.
Reimer, as he is coached to do, routinely drops to his knees on shots and hopes the puck hits him. Obviously teams have scouted him and the majority of clean shots they take are placed high.
At least he accepted blame on the game-winning goal.
“On the last one the guy makes a nice shot, but I’d like to make that save,” Reimer said.
It’s a save he would have made last season.
The Senators not only aimed pucks high on Reimer, they also crowded his work area. On the first two goals he had difficulty trying to make the save because of enemies in and around the crease. Reimer felt the Senators crossed the line and should have been called.
“On the first two goals I felt that I was kind of interfered with and I didn’t have a chance to make the save,” he said. “I don’t mean to harp on the refs. I love the refs. They talk to me all the time and they do a good job. They have the hardest job, but I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to make the effort to make the save.”
So, James, has the magic really disappeared?
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t think anything as had really changed in terms of how I prepare and the intensity I bring, but sometimes things just don’t go your way and there are times when you need to come up big for your team. I did that last year and this year I’m just an inch away from making those saves. At the same time I am working hard and the general thought is if you are honest and keep working everything will fall into place.”
Or not.
In any case, Burke had better be considering obtaining an upgrade. Reimer and Gustavsson might be okay for beyond this season, but if the Leafs fail to make the playoffs for a seventh straight season, and the fact the team doesn’t have a stopper who can steal games for them, it falls on the shoulders of the boss.
