Goalie James Reimer to make Senators debut against Red Wings

A new face will grace the Ottawa Senators‘ crease on Sunday.

Veteran James Reimer is set to make his team debut on the road against the Detroit Red Wings.

The move comes one day after Leevi Merilainen allowed six goals on 19 shots in a 6-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Reimer, 37, signed a one-year contract with the Senators on Monday.

Ottawa has struggled mightily between the pipes this season, and the problem has only been magnified in recent weeks as No. 1 netminder Linus Ullmark stepped away from the team due to personal reasons.

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Merilainen, Mads Sogaard and Hunter Shepard also have seen time in net for Ottawa this season. As a team, the Senators have a save percentage of .865, the worst mark by any team in the last 30 years.

Reimer made his NHL debut in December 2010. In the 15 seasons that followed, he played in 525 regular-season games, compiling a record of 225-187-65 with a goals-against average of 2.89 and a save percentage of .910.

A fourth-round pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, Reimer spent his first eight seasons in the pros with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. After playing for the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, San Jose Sharks, Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks, he spent most of the 2024-25 season with the Buffalo Sabres. In 22 games with them, he posted a record of 10-8-2 with a goals-against average of 2.90 and a save percentage of .901.

More recently, in December, he appeared in two games for Team Canada in the Spengler Cup tournament in Davos, Switzerland.