Florida Panthers: Evaluating the Goaltending Position this Past Season

James Reimer

In his second season with the Panthers, Reimer yet again handled most of the goaltending duties. While he also caught the injury bug at points in the season, Reimer was relied on for most of the year. Although Reimer’s personal numbers are actually worse compared to last season, he did finish with a record of 22-16-6 which was better than the year before.

Was it a successful season for Reimer? To me, it seems like James had another decent season. He wasn’t spectacular and he wasn’t bad either. At times, Reimer made unbelievable saves and carried the team on his shoulders, and then there were the games were Reimer seemed like he couldn’t stop a beach ball. Because the Cats finished with a better record this season, it would be fair to say that Reimer was overall a better goaltender compared to the season before.

Moving forward, it still remains to be seen if Reimer can really be trusted as the no. 1 goaltender for the Panthers. As of now, he fits the role of splitting most of the time with Luongo, but when Luongo eventually retires, it’s still very unclear if Reimer can handle being the go-to goalie at all times.

It will be interesting to see how the Panthers handle Reimer’s situation as they head into the offseason. Anything could happen, but all signs point to Reimer staying in South Florida for at least another season.