The Buffalo Sabres placed three players on waivers Sunday, and the Anaheim Ducks claimed one. In a flurry of waiver activity, the Sabres placed forward Lukas Rousek, defenseman Kale Clague, and goalie James Reimer on waivers. They intended to send all three to the AHL to start the season with the Rochester Americans, but the Ducks swooped in to claim Reimer to bolster their goaltending to start the season.
Reimer was brought in this summer along with Felix Sandstrom by general manager Kevyn Adams to provide quality goaltending depth. Both players had previous NHL experience, with Reimer playing 501 career NHL games. He was supposed to be the team’s third goalie on the depth chart and act as a safety net should one of the youngsters, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen or Devon Levi, struggle or miss time due to injury.
Reimer on Waivers
Rousek, Clague, and Reimer were on the Sabres roster to start the season and with the team in Europe, as Buffalo was given a roster exemption to keep up to 27 players. They were among many players placed on waivers Sunday on the biggest day of waiver activity this preseason. Despite trying to sneak Reimer through among the 10 goalies on waivers, the Sabres were not successful in maintaining their strong goaltending depth. The veteran was simply too big of a name and too proven to avoid a claim.
Ducks Goalie Situation
The Anaheim Ducks recently received news that incumbent starting goalie John Gibson would have to undergo an appendectomy and would miss the first three to six weeks of the NHL regular season. Their backup, Lukas Dostal, looks primed to handle the starting job but were down to either the unproven Calle Clang or Oscar Dansk to start the season with the Ducks. Reimer eases the burden for Dostal, the Ducks, and Clang or Dansk, who would be thrust into a role unexpectedly.
Sabres Next Move
As for the Sabres, they’ll now turn to Sandstrom and Michael Houser to handle the goaltending in Rochester. Should more goalies hit the market, Buffalo will likely explore their options. It’s also possible that the Ducks waive Reimer when Gibson returns, to which the Sabres will have first right of refusal in reacquiring the veteran goalie.
If Buffalo chooses to claim someone else in the meantime, they’ll be forced to keep that goalie on the NHL roster initially. That would give the Sabres a third goalie to share the room with Luukkonen and Levi. Adding a third goalie would also likely mean one of Jacob Bryson or Dennis Gilbert would have to be waived and sent down, should they clear, to be roster-compliant.
