If James Reimer's numbers have you taken aback now, wait until you see his next contract.
In his recent conversations with those in the know, TSN's Darren Dreger deduced that there's a belief among some executives that the Toronto Maple Leafs' soon-to-be free-agent goalie - who's absolutely at the height of his career right now - has done enough to fetch a substantial long-term contract.
"Asked to predict the term and dollar Reimer might command to extend his time with the Maple Leafs, the collective average educated guess of a few NHL management types outside of Toronto is five to seven years at $4.5- to $5.5-million per season," Dreger wrote in his latest Dreger Report.
Dreger adds that both Reimer and the Leafs have mutual interest in getting a deal done. But with the netminder's value skyrocketing, he acknowledges the very real possibility of either party taking advantage of new-found leverage.
"Are those numbers good enough to convince the Leafs to invest in him for the long term? Are they more ammo to lure in potential trade suitors? It’s too soon to say," Dreger wrote.
With a dazzling .937 clip, Reimer is the current league leader in save percentage, and, as Dreger noted, leads in a variety of advanced goaltending metrics as well.
