Optimus Reim raising Cane in Carolina

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This article was published 21/01/2020 (2084 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RALEIGH — James Reimer has never forgot where he came from — even if the vast majority of hockey fans couldn’t find Morweena on a map. He’s proud of his Manitoba roots, appreciating the simpler life after travelling through much of North America during a pro career now in its 10th full season.

“Great people back home, great community to grow up in. Just wholesome people,” Reimer told the Free Press on Tuesday of his hometown, located north of Winnipeg in the Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton.

And now, as he settles into his newest hockey home here in Raleigh, the 31-year-old is making the most of a fresh start. Reimer is 11-6-1 in 20 appearances with the Carolina Hurricanes, with a tidy 2.47 goals-against-average and sparkling .921 save percentage.

“It’s been pretty good. We’ve got a good young team and we’re having some fun playing some hockey. It’s a nice city to be living in, a nice family town. So there’s a good feel to it,” Reimer said of the fit for him, his wife and their two children.

Yes, he’s come a long way from the kid who didn’t start playing organizational hockey until he was 12, then caught the eye of Steinbach hockey agent Ray Petkau after playing in a local tournament on a church team.

The former Red Deer Rebel, drafted 99th overall by Toronto in 2006, had to pay his dues in the ECHL and AHL before finally breaking through on the NHL stage during an impressive 2010-11 campaign with the Maple Leafs. He went 20-10-5 with a 2.60 GAA and .921 save percentage, earning the nickname “Optimus Reim.”

But the road to stardom was paved with plenty of obstacles along the way, with Reimer mostly relegated to a backup role over the past decade. His career-high in games played is just 44, due to a combination of circumstances, performance and injuries.

Six years in Toronto. One in San Jose. Three in Florida. And now the latest stop, with the fun-loving “Bunch of Jerks” in Carolina, who took the league by storm last season and are off to another solid run this year.

“I think the main thing is you just want to go to a team that has a chance to win. This group here, we’ve got a good group and a lot of skill. I was excited about that, obviously saw what they did last year,” Reimer said of the Hurricanes run to the Eastern Conference final.

He’s worked well with netminder Petr Mrazek, who made his 32nd appearance of the season Tuesday night as the Hurricanes hosted the Winnipeg Jets at PNC Arena. They’ve formed a solid one-two punch that takes pride in both their defensive acumen and speed and skill up front.

“Obviously like any season there’s ups and downs, good games and bad games, but I think as a team we’re playing pretty well. When as a team you play well, individually you look better. I think that’s kind of the case here. You try to have a good off-season, you try to train well and do what you can do. We’re just playing some good hockey,” said Reimer, who is in the fourth year of a five-year contract that pays him an average annual salary of US $3.4 million.

Reimer said he was especially happy to move on from the Panthers, saying his time in the Sunshine State didn’t exactly go as planned. Florida traded him last summer in an attempt to clear out some salary, which they used to sign new No. 1 goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in free agency.

“It was interesting. There were a lot of expectations and different plans per se that were in place. It was just, I don’t know how to explain it, but things didn’t go as you thought they would go. It wasn’t seamless by any means. I don’t know how to explain it. It was interesting times, I’ll put it that way,” said Reimer.

“Good people, some awesome people in the organization, and I met some good people, too, and our family, both kids were born down there. But on the ice and what-not, it was interesting.”

Reimer’s most recent victory came Sunday on home ice and was a memorable one, when his team beat the New York Islanders 2-1 in a shootout. Justin Williams, a.k.a Mr. Game 7, scored the winner in the breakaway competition in his first game back since putting off retirement to play another season.

“Sports is awesome, and the little things like that are fun. In the sporting world anything can happen, and when things work out like that it’s fun for everyone in the building. Unless you’re wearing an Islanders jersey,” Reimer said with a chuckle.

Carolina’s quest for a championship just got a bit tougher as defenceman Dougie Hamilton broke a bone in his left leg last week and is out for the remainder of the regular-season. Hamilton had 14 goals and 26 assists and was in the Norris Trophy conversation.

“Dougie’s awesome. A great guy and just a stupid amount of skill. It’s tough. I think what was maybe nice, and obviously it wasn’t planned, was to get Willy (Justin Williams) back right after. That was a big boost for our team. Obviously different positions and what-not, but just the presence and kind of the boost to the club is nice,” said Reimer.

“We’ve got a lot of good players so hopefully guys kind of hold the fort and we keep getting better, and when he comes back it will be a huge boost for us.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg