Why the Leafs should (and will) keep James Reimer

I think you’re right on the money here. And it could very well turn out to be for the best for Wilson, the team and the kid. He’ll get the chance, now it’s up to him to make the most of it. And chances like this don’t come very often, keeping my fingers crossed for ya kid.

You’re reasoning is sound, but if job preservation were RW’s priority I don’t understand why he would keep throwing Lebda out there. I think he has to be either getting instructions from management or drawing up his roster on his own perception of organizational priorities (which don’t necessarily mean simply putting out the best players).

It would be a shame to send Reimer down now. He’s earned the chance to play for the Leafs.

it would be really great if reimer turned into a suprising positive goaltending story for us. we’re way overdue for one of those. like 8 or 9 years by my count.

You gotta play the hot hand…points are points, Reimer is earning his opportunity, Gustavsson is letting it slip through his fingers.

Seems to me this is a good example of how to develop young players in a positive manner. And so when they are ready to take their shot, you give it to them. The next step is to see how consistent he can be at the NHL level, but don’t play him into the ground. It seems like they did that a bit with Gus. Not that the load was that big (to be a number one, you have to play a similar number of games) but maybe he needs another season of lower work. In which case, a tandem situation could work. Washington has got two 22 year old goalies. Seems ok for them

I think you’re kind of mis-characterising the early season roster decisions somewhat. Burke may say they go by the “body of work” theory, and to some degree they probably do, but the main reason that Caputi and Hanson were in the minors and Mitchell wasn’t is waivers. Caputi and Hanson don’t need to clear waivers, Mitchell does. Zigomanis was kept on the roster basically because they figured (correctly) he could pass through waivers without anyone claiming him.

I find it interesting to look at the NHL standings, and see that 2 of the 5 hottest teams in the NHL are outside the playoffs, and right around Toronto. It gives me hope we can join that push.

Right now Vancouver, Philly, Tampa Bay, the Islanders, and Minnesota all have 7 or more wins in their last 10 games. The Leafs have 3 wins in their last 4, and Reimer’s been a large part of that.

Vancouver and Philadelphia are winning with awesome teams (they’re both stacked) so throw them out of the discussion.

The other 3 teams have all had issues of one sort or another that are relevant to Toronto. Tampa Bay’s goaltending has been brutal, while the Wild haven’t been able to score enough. The Islanders are actually behind us in the standings, but they’ve had problems in net, and in getting goals.

Tampa lost their last game 8-1 to the Penguins, but prior to that they were in the midst of a 9-1-2 stretch where they allowed over 2 goals on only 4 occasions. That’s 8 games allowing 2 or less goals. Somehow Ellis (2), Smith (2), Desjardins (3), and Roloson (1) have ALL contributed to that run. Ironically Roloson actually should have (2) there because he was the winning goalie in a 2-1 OT loss by the Lightning to the Isles before he was traded. Either way, somehow the team goalie thing is working for them. If Reimer and Gustavsson can improve – particularly by Reimer reducing the load on Gustavsson, that would go a long way to helping.

Minnesota have gone 9-4-3 in their last 16 games, and Theodore and Backstrom have split the wins pretty evenly with 4 for Theodore and 5 for Backstrom. In their wins they’ve allowed 2 or fewer goals 7 times. They also have scored 32 goals in the 9 wins, averaging 3.56 goals per game.

Cal Clutterbuck is keying their surge with 4 goals and 7 points in his last 8 games, which is a bit out of the ordinary for him. Meanwhile regular standbys Mikko Koivu (3 goals and 7 points in his last 6 games) and Martin Havlat (9 goals and 30 points in his last 30 games) have also carried the load offensively. The Leafs getting offense from Armstrong is a lot like the Wild getting offense from Clutterbuck.

The Islanders meanwhile are getting offense from John Tavares finally on a regular basis. Since Dec. 16th, he has produced 6 goals and 14 points in his last 11 games. This after registering only 8 goals and 14 points through the first 25 games of the season.

Phil Kessel and the rest of the Leafs top offensive players are producing of late, so if the D can begin to step up and contribute more (hi Tomas Kaberle’s 4 point game), then maybe we can figure shit out.

Do you want to be able to walk with your kids and grandkids when you’re an old man? Ok, then take my advice and shut it down for the season. Even if it’s not the only option, I sure you’ve considered surgery to help out your groin; better to get it now while it’s covered by your NHL team and not out of pocket. Just a thought.