The Buffalo Sabres fell victim to the waiver wire on Monday as NHL clubs cut down to 23 players, as goalie James Reimer was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks. The 36-year-old veteran was signed by the Sabres to a one-year, $1 million deal in July to possibly compete for roster spot behind starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and sophomore Devon Levi.
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The Sabres had plenty of cap space to carry three goaltenders on their roster as they did last season with Luukkonen, Levi, and Eric Comrie opted to carry only two and attempted to slip Reimer, who played 25 games with Detroit last season, down to the American Hockey League, where he has not played since 2011.
The Ducks are without veteran John Gibson, who underwent emergency appendectomy surgery last week and needed someone to back up starter Lukas Dostal. Once Gibson returns, it is possible that Anaheim will place Reimer on waivers, which would allow Buffalo to reclaim him and assign the veteran directly to the Amerks.
Buffalo now have former Philadelphia Flyer Felix Sandstrom as their #3 option. It appears that the Sabres will be keeping Levi with the Sabres to start the season, but if they opt to give Luukkonen a heavy workload, it is still possible that the 22-year-old will get some work in the AHL during the season.
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