Jussi Rynnas Is Good, but He Ain't No James Reimer: Maple Leaf Goalie Drama

For a team with a lot of questions in goal over the past few years, it seems that now there are goalies coming out the wazoo for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Only a few weeks ago Burke and company signed two goalies: Ben Scrivens of the NCAA, and highly touted free agent Jussi Rynnas from the Finnish SM Liga.

While it’s nice to see the goaltender position deeper than ever, many fans believe that Rynnas is an automatic lock for starting duties with the Marlies next season, and a sure-thing for the Leafs the following year.

Let’s all calm down a minute. If there’s one guy who can thwart Rynnas’ claim to goaltending glory, it’s James Reimer.

Reimer is signed through next season and, when healthy, has shown signs of being a solid goalie.

It’s somewhat foolish to assume Rynnas will jump in and take over the Marlies next season simply because he’s the new kid in town. It takes a while to develop goalies and at 22 years old Reimer is coming along nicely.

The only goalie in the AHL with a higher save percentage than Reimer last season was Jonathan Bernier of the Manchester Monarchs. Bernier posted a 0.936 while our buddy Reimer had 0.925.

Outstanding.

Reimer’s goals against average was 2.25, which would have been good for fourth place amongst AHL goalies had he not missed so much time from injury.

On a team that finished with a losing record, Reimer held down a winning record of 14-8-2.

Rynnas will have his hands full if he believes he can wrestle away Reimer’s spot as top goalie with the Marlies next season.

The two will likely split assignments throughout the entire season, and in the end the results will speak for themselves.

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