Toronto Maple Leaf Schedule

Reimer eager to prove himself

Three months before the Maple Leafs begin training camp, James Reimer already is working the room, a high-performance gym in B.C. to be exact, very eager to prove a point.

"I do not intend to be a one-year wonder," said the man shouldering much of the team's playoff fortunes, in whom they've just invested $5.4 million US. "I will not dwell on past success. I intend to live in the present.

"This is going to be a huge off-season for me. I want to make a splash, with the same success, if not more."

He spends 2 1/2 hours a day in Adam Francilia's Fitlife Centre for Health and Performance in Maple Ridge, near Vancouver, while adhering to an organic inspired nutrition plan. Francilia hopes to hand back the 6-foot-2 Reimer to Leaf goalie guru Francois Allaire and strength coach Anthony Belza in September about five to 10 pounds lighter, to be even quicker on his skates and upper-body reflexes.

"He knows the challenges he has ahead," said Francilia, who works with NHLers Andrew Ladd, Brandon Yip, as well as pro baseball and lacrosse players. "We know the expectation (coach) Ron Wilson has for him is about 60 to 65 games. He wants to make the most of the opportunity he's been given and we've already seen improvements, not just physically, but in the lifestyle component that goes with it."

Reimer's last NHL game was April 10, but he's hardly been idle since.

He played for Canada at the world championship in May, then took just a week off, to Hawaii to mark his one-year wedding anniversary, during which a fax arrived confirming his first big-league pay-day. He'll be getting $2.2 million this season and $1.6 million through 2013-14.

"We had agreed verbally before leaving, but it was nice to get the news it was official. That was a lot more money than I ever thought I could make at (age 23). I didn't expect to get as far as I did so quickly. I enjoyed it, now I want to build on it."

There has been so little to celebrate with this team in the course of six losing seasons that any positive development tends to get over-cooked on the fan/media hot plate. Bereft of a star since Mats Sundin departed and only now recovering from prospect neglect, the Leafs have only Luke Schenn and Nikolai Kulemin as polished homegrown products and a whole lot of flavours-of-the-month, with Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri and Jonas Gustavsson.

That was before Reimer came to town in late December, without any personal bravado or Brian Burke hype. His record was 20-10-5, with the league's second-best save percentage by a rookie of .921. In a club that was low on post-season hope before the halfway mark of the NHL schedule, a coach under fire and the cynics out in force, the small-town Manitoba Mennonite was just the tonic in goal and an air freshener in the room.

2011 Ottawa Senators preseason schedule - Cup Crazy's National ...

Ottawa fans will get their first chance to see the 2011-2012 Senators team on Wednesday, September 21st when the team hosts the Stanley Cup-champion Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Place. The Senators will then host the Montréal Canadiens on Friday, September 23rd and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, September 27th to conclude their home pre-season schedule.

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