On January 8th Ottawa Senators' GM Steve Staios decided to gamble and sign veteran goaltender James Reimer to an amateur tryout with the Belleville Senators. Just four days later, the ATO materialized into a one-year deal with the NHL club.
At the time, Reimer had not played a professional hockey game since the preseason when he was signed to a PTO with his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and got released. He had also played 2 games with Team Canada during the Spengler Cup. That was it. That's all the professional hockey he had played that season up until the Senators signed him. Fans were livid. How was this 38-year-old, who was released earlier in the year, going to help the team? Many assumed his career was over.
The timing of his signing was nothing short of hilarious, as the Ottawa Senators were actively playing against the Colorado Avalanche. They were trailing the Avalanche 8-1 when the news broke of his signing. Leevi Merilainen was getting absolutely shelled, and Linus Ullmark had yet to return from his leave. Unfortunately, the organization needed to do something, so as mentioned above, Staois took a chance on an aging veteran.
The @Senators have signed veteran goalie James Reimer to an AHL PTO. Expect Reimer to report to Ottawa in a few days with an NHL contract. Ultimately, the hope is Reimer will provide good backup to Linus Ullmark when he returns from Personal
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) January 9, 2026
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He started with Belleville in the American Hockey League (AHL) on Jan. 11, playing one game. Where he allowed 6 goals on 28 shots, resulting in a 6-5 overtime loss. The next day, Staios signed him to a one-year contract with the NHL club. He made his first appearance with the Senators on January 18th, when he suited up against the Detroit Red Wings. The Sens lost this game in overtime, and Reimer made 30 saves on 34 shots. Not a terrible game by any imagination, but they needed more.
His next game, against the Columbus Blue Jackets, was much better. He made 22 saves on 23 shots, with a .955 save percentage. The Senators won that game. Reimer would start in a total of 14 games for the club, posting 7 wins. He had a pattern in his starts; he would win every other game he played. It was enough to keep his team in the playoff race.
Reimer is not an everyday goaltender in the NHL anymore. He is a backup, but he has accepted it. Sure, his arrival did not "save" their season in the way that Andrew Hammond did in 2015. But he was able to provide the Senators with average goaltending, which is all they needed.
Ultimately, Ullmark returned and played great more nights than not, and Reimer was serviceable in the games he did play. What saved the season was when Reimer was able to give the Sens steady goaltending when the combination of Merilainen, Mads Sogaard, and Hunter Shepard showed that they couldn't get the job done this season.
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