Reimer among 5 waiver claims before roster deadline
James Reimer was among a handful of players scooped up by new teams on waivers ahead of Monday's 5 p.m. ET deadline for all 32 NHL clubs to finalize their season-opening rosters.
Here's a quick look at the moves:
| Player | Position | Claimed By | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Aston-Reese | F | Columbus Blue Jackets | Vegas Golden Knights |
| Raphael Lavoie | F | Golden Knights | Edmonton Oilers |
| Jiri Patera | G | Vancouver Canucks | Boston Bruins |
| James Reimer | G | Anaheim Ducks | Buffalo Sabres |
| Cole Schwindt | F | Golden Knights | Calgary Flames |
The Sabres signed Reimer to a one-year, $1-million contract on July 2. The 36-year-old goaltender traveled with the team to Prague for the NHL's first two regular-season games of the campaign between Buffalo and the New Jersey Devils. He didn't play in either contest.
Buffalo has Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi ahead of Reimer on its depth chart, but losing the veteran means the club is left with Felix Sandstrom and Michael Houser as its organizational depth in the crease.
The Ducks needed another NHL netminder to complement Lukas Dostal because John Gibson underwent an appendectomy in late September and was expected to miss three-to-six weeks at the time.
Aston-Reese signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Golden Knights on July 1 and now goes to the Blue Jackets. The 30-year-old had short stints with the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Ducks after playing his first four-plus seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He buried a career-high 10 goals with the Leafs over 77 games in 2022-23.
Lavoie heads to the Golden Knights having only played seven NHL games (going pointless with the Oilers last season), but the 24-year-old produced 28 goals and 22 assists across 66 contests with their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, in 2023-24.
Schwindt, also going to Vegas, is best known as the prospect the Florida Panthers included in the blockbuster Matthew Tkachuk-for-Jonathan Huberdeau swap in July 2022. He also has just seven NHL games under his belt, including four for the Flames in the last campaign, with no points to show for it.
The Canucks reclaimed Patera on Monday. The Bruins snagged him off the wire from Vancouver on Oct. 2 amid their contract stalemate with starting netminder Jeremy Swayman, which was resolved Sunday.