James Reimer

James Reimer was born on March 15, 1988, in Morweena, Manitoba — a detail that marks the starting point of a career that has taken him through eight NHL organizations. Toronto selected him in the fourth round of the 2006 NHL Draft, 98th overall. He stands 6'2" and weighs 200 pounds, catching left. Now 38 and playing for the Ottawa Senators wearing number 47, Reimer carries a career record of 537 games played, 231 wins, 191 losses, 66 overtime losses, a 2.88 goals-against average, a .909 save percentage, and 32 shutouts.

His path through the NHL included stops with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, and Anaheim Ducks before his current contract with Ottawa. One stretch with San Jose following a trade deadline deal in 2016 produced a record of 6-2-0 with a .938 save percentage James Reimer on Traffic and Dealing with Screens. He returned to the Sharks as a free agent ahead of the 2021-22 season James Reimer on Traffic and Dealing with Screens.

InGoal Magazine has covered James Reimer in 15 Pro Reads, making him one of the most frequently featured goaltenders in the publication's video breakdown series. InGoal's access to Reimer began in earnest during offseason sessions while he was still with the Florida Panthers — recorded before he had played a game in Carolina — and continued across his subsequent stops with the Hurricanes and Sharks, including an in-person session at the NET360 Goalie Camp in Kelowna James Reimer Pro-ReadJames Reimer Pro-ReadJames Reimer Pro-ReadJames Reimer Breaks Down 5-on-3 Tactics.

In his Pro Reads work, Reimer has been consistent about naming what he got wrong before explaining what he got right. When breaking down a desperation save against Ottawa's Thomas Chabot, his first reaction on watching the play back was straightforward: "I can tell you what I did wrong" James Reimer Pro Reads: Defensive breakdown leads to difficult desperation save. In that session, he identified going down early into a reverse-VH as one error, but described the larger mistake as not rotating or flattening out more on the goal line as he moved into the post integration, which left him lunging rather than pushing James Reimer Pro Reads: Defensive breakdown leads to difficult desperation save. That same directness appeared in a 5-on-5 faceoff breakdown against Vegas, where he noted: "In a perfect world I can criticize myself but I got there on angle and medium depth. I would have liked to be more on top of my crease and I open up my lead leg a little" James Reimer Pro-Read.

The themes Reimer returns to across multiple sessions center on tracking the puck, early reads, and managing time and space. On a 5-on-3 against Edmonton, he described adjusting depth as a key element: "You change your depth. You're a little deeper and since you are deeper, you have to really be on angle and tracking pucks to the nth degree." His organizing principle in that situation came down to one word: "For me its eyes. If you are looking at it, then at least you have a chance" James Reimer Breaks Down 5-on-3 Tactics. On a screen sequence, the same logic applied: "For me it's always I need to see the puck and I don't care if I'm on the 'wrong side,' I'd rather be a foot off my angle and be able to see the puck then be on angle and not see the puck" James Reimer on Traffic and Dealing with Screens.

Reimer has also spoken about the work that goes into preparation before a game begins. In a Pro Read featuring a save against the Philadelphia Flyers, he described his pre-game routine with his goalie coach: "before every game, with our goalie coach, I go over every shooter, every player and try and figure out tendencies, if he's been scoring lately, is he hot…and what do other generate as a team, what kind of chances are you going to get" Pro-Reads: James Reimer Student of the Game. His goalie coach during his time in Florida was Rob Tallas Pro-Reads: James Reimer 2-on-1 from the neutral zonePro-Reads: James Reimer – Layered Screen Shot.

On moving across to a shooter rather than going to his knees, Reimer was direct about why he prefers staying on his feet: "I got there on my feet and had good rotation. If you slide to him then I think he's licking his chops because you made the first move now he can make that read or hold on to it and slip it backdoor but if you get there on your feet you make it harder on him" James Reimer Pro-Read. And on a rush play where he acknowledged he hadn't gotten an early read, he described his fallback approach as returning to basics: "I just read off him at that point, I didn't see him because I didn't get a good read. … once I see how far out he is I stop myself, gain rotation and just push out at him and try to play goalie, old-school street hockey from there" James Reimer Pro-Read.

His 10th Pro Read appearance — five recorded in Florida Panthers colors and five in Carolina Hurricanes colors — ran in September 2021, just as he was leaving Carolina to return to San Jose James Reimer on Traffic and Dealing with Screens. The Kelowna sessions added further Sharks footage to the library James Reimer Pro-ReadJames Reimer Pro-ReadJames Reimer Pro-ReadJames Reimer Breaks Down 5-on-3 Tactics. In the 2025-26 season with Ottawa, Reimer has appeared in 12 games, going 6-4-1 with a 2.42 goals-against average, an .883 save percentage, and 1 shutout.