THW’s Goalie News: Reimer Perfect, the Two Halls

In today’s goalie news, we’ll talk about a historic night for Mr. Goalie, a rough night for the Calgary Flames, and trade rumors around a former Hart Trophy winner.

Reimer Ends the Flames Streak

The Flames had won seven games in a row entering Saturday’s game, every game since the resignation of former head coach Bill Peters. But Carolina Hurricanes’ goaltender James Reimer was ready on Saturday night to put an end to that. The Flames were good in the matchup, but Reimer was perfect, ending the night with a shutout.

The Hurricanes backup stopped 32 shots, including eight on the power play and a team-leading six from Elias Lindholm. The Flames generated 13 high-danger chances, but Reimer remained stout and stopped them all. Warren Foegele’s two shorthanded goals (one of them an empty netter) sealed the 4-0 victory for Carolina.

Reimer is having a resurgent season with the Hurricanes after a disastrous 2018-19 campaign with the Florida Panthers. With the win, his second shutout of the season, his save percentage (SV%) climbs to .924 and his record to 7-5-0. Having a reliable backup like Reimer can be the difference between the Hurricanes, who sit comfortably in a playoff position, and a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have yet to win a game with their backup in the net.

Hall Makes History in St. Louis

There is a reason Glenn Hall is nicknamed “Mr. Goalie.” He was a trailblazer for the position, and it is difficult to imagine the history of the game without him. He is most famous for his time with the Detroit Red Wings and, primarily, the Chicago Blackhawks, but on this day in 1970, he made history with his final team: the St. Louis Blues.

Playing against the Minnesota North Stars, Hall made 38 saves in a 2-1 win on Dec. 15, 1970. In the process, he became just the second goaltender to collect his 400th career win, joining only Terry Sawchuck in that exclusive achievement. Hall would finish his career just a few months later, retiring at age 39 with 407 wins.

To date, 11 other goalies have joined Sawchuck and Hall in the 400 club. Hall sits at 11th all-time on that list. Only Henrik Lundqvist and Marc-Andre Fleury have reached that mark among active goalies, with Lundqvist recently climbing to fifth place with his 455th win.

While a number of terrific goalies have surpassed Hall on the wins list, he maintains one record that will never be touched. He started a remarkable 502 consecutive regular-season games between the 1955-56 and 1962-63 seasons. In today’s NHL, with its tandems and maintenance days, Hall can rest assured that no goaltender will ever approach that record.

Goalie an Option for Hall?

Former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall is a hot topic of discussion around the league, with the New Jersey Devils likely to trade the goalie in the coming days. With no formal news at the time of this writing, there is speculation that Devils’ general manager Ray Shero might be looking for a goaltender as part of the deal, as his team has the third-worst SV% (.886) and second-worst goals against average (GAA) and goal differential (minus-36).

A number of the teams among the known finalists for Hall’s services have goaltenders that might appeal to the Devils. These include the Blues’ Jake Allen, the Colorado Avalanche’s Pavel Francouz, and either of the Arizona Coyotes’ red-hot goaltenders, Darcy Kuemper or Antti Raanta. While none of these goalies would likely be the centerpiece of a deal, they could all be appealing trade chips for Hall, who is in the final year of his contract.

Hall will likely be one of the most expensive rental trade acquisitions in recent memory, and the package is likely to include any number of picks, prospects, and roster players. But if Shero is smart, he will kill two birds with one stone and address his desperate need for goaltending help in the process.

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