Reimer Reacts to Kahkonen Trade, Hopes to Be With Sharks Next Year

CALGARY — James Reimer woke up, put on NHL Network, and saw that the San Jose Sharks had brought in another starting goaltender.

Then, the incumbent Sharks starter just went about his day.

“I stayed around home, played with the kids, went to the rink, got some treatment,” he shared. “I just hung out with my daughter. We made some breakfast and, went to a doctor’s appointment, came back home. That was pretty much the Trade Deadline.”

On Monday morning, the San Jose Sharks traded defenseman Jake Middleton to the Minnesota Wild for 25-year-old Kaapo Kahkonen and a 2022 fifth-round pick. Since the Sharks also have Adin Hill under contract next year, the assumption was that Reimer, who’s outperformed Hill this season, could be dealt elsewhere by noon.

Instead, the Sharks stood pat and now have three starting-caliber goalies under team control next year: Reimer is signed for $2.25 million dollars, Hill for $2.1 million, and Kahkonen is an RFA.

Reimer says he didn’t get a call from San Jose Sharks acting GM Joe Will after the Kahkonen trade and still hasn’t really talked to Will, head coach Bob Boughner, or goaltending coach Evgeni Nabokov about San Jose’s now-crowded crease. That talk is coming, he noted.

“Often you hear about stuff quicker through the media than you do through your team sometimes, which is crazy,” Reimer chuckled.

The 34-year-old acknowledged some worry after the Kahkonen deal about whether he and his family would soon be on the move.

He joked: “When you say it doesn’t really bother you too much, obviously you’re human. It’s not like you’re just sitting by the pool, having a cigar.”

But the vet wasn’t besides himself either.

“It’s just one of those things where you can’t control. I’m a Christian, so you have faith that there’s a plan. You just kind of trust it, right?” Reimer said. “It’s Trade Deadline day. I’ve been through, geez, 12 of them by now?”

As usual, he’s focused on the team and being a good teammate.

Reimer texted with Kahkonen yesterday: “He’s a great guy. Great kid.”

And: “The objective stays the same for me. It’s stop the little black thing that you’re trying to get in front of. Whether it’s 12 goalies or just one, that’s all you really try and focus on.”

Reimer was clear though that he wanted to keep stopping that little black thing in teal.

“Definitely. I like it here. Like the guys, like the team, like the coaches,” he said. “There’s definitely a sense of relief when things came and went and you’re staying put.”