When you're in a rebuild, you tend to sell off as many assets as you can at the trade deadline. That's exactly what the Toronto Maple Leafs were doing just a couple of months ago - and one of the many moves made was to trade James Reimer to the San Jose Sharks.
Reimer, an upcoming unrestricted free agent, along with Jeremy Morin went to San Jose for Alex Stalock, Ben Smith, and a conditional 2018 third round pick. The condition? The Sharks make the Stanley Cup Final this year.
Well, for the first time in franchise history, the Sharks have done just that. They knocked out the St. Louis Blues in six games, and now Reimer - backup to Martin Jones - has made the return for him just a little richer.
Reimer hasn't played much these playoffs, only getting some ice time in one game when the Blues took a 4-0 lead after two periods. But he did play eight regular season games for the Sharks down the stretch, posting a .938 save percentage and three shutouts along the way. He gave them much-needed relief int he form of a backup they could count on (Stalock, uh, didn't exactly fill that role), and giving Jones some off time has probably helped him be able to put up such great performances throughout the post-season.
And now Reimer is also this close to having his name on the Stanley Cup. That's really cool, too.