When A Goalie Is A Hill

The most popular phrase in hockey these days has become "the hill we will die on."

Poor Bill Daly. He's a smart, talented lawyer and able administrator, but that one turn of phrase is going to follow him around for a while.

But now everyone's using the phrase, both seriously and in jest. So let's join the crowd and wonder, "Is James Reimer the hill that Brian Burke will die on?"

Ever since Reimer stole the hearts of Leaf fans two seasons ago and earned himself a big-league contract, Burke has been his biggest backer, calling him "the real deal," even when the evidence suggested otherwise.

Right now, Reimer is the unchallenged No. 1 man in the Leaf crease heading towards this week's training camp, with Jonas Gustavsson having bolted for Detroit with Leaf management holding the gate open.

Only Ben Scrivens can stop Reimer now.

Or Roberto Luongo, of course.

That is now the biggest guessing game in town. Some pundits have predicted the deal is already done and Luongo will be a Leaf as soon as trades are again allowed.

Others, some in places that should know, suggest otherwise. Burke hasn't been shy to tell people that he is all but 100 per cent committed to going with Reimer and Scrivens as his two goalies this season.

Maybe its a bluff. But when he says stuff like that, you can almost envision him setting his jaw. And that's that.

It may well be that he simply doesn't want to trade for Luongo, that he has convinced himself that Reimer is the better path. If his job wasn't on the line, and if the pressure wasn't going to be immense for the Leafs to make post-season play, he might even be correct.

But right now, Luongo is the better goalie, and offers the team a better chance today of making the playoffs. Nobody would pay a huge ransom to get him because of his awkward contract, but you may not have to.

Burke, however, doesn't see it that way, and unless Vancouver GM Mike Gillis essentially hands Luongo to the Leafs for all but nothing in return, the Leaf GM may not be interested.

Now, maybe he changes his mind two weeks into this truncated season when he's seen what he's actually got between the pipes. Problem is, a bad start might sink a team. Going after Luongo in early February might be too late.

So we'll see which of these scenarios turns out to be the case. Burke has been very quiet of late, and just got back from Russia. Nobody seems to know exactly what he's thinking at the moment.

But going with Reimer and saying "screw off" to those who believe it's too risky might just be an idea that appeals to Burke. In Vancouver, he defended and backed Dan Cloutier until the bitter end in the face of considerable evidence that Cloutier was never going to take the Canucks anywhere.

Now is Reimer going to be Toronto's version of Cloutier? 

Only Burke seems to know his own mind on this one. 

 

Comments

[Bill]

With two buyouts allowed next season Luongo's contract is no longer an issue for Vancouver or any team. He is a one year pick now. This rent a player's price has gone up.

[Hal]

Is it fair to poke fun at Daly's use of "hill we die on" and then go on to use "stole the hearts of" and "huge ransom to get?"