This is a post I really was hoping I didn't have to write, but I do: James Reimer is no longer a Toronto Maple Leaf. The Leafs traded him to the San Jose Sharks today

Reimer was a pending UFA, and it was likely he'd be traded if an extension couldn't be agreed on, but this doesn't make this suck any less:

And the return?

My initial reaction? Meh; I really don't like this return at all, to be honest. Ben Smith has 44 points in 181 career NHL games, and 10 points in just 14 AHL games this year. Alex Stalock is not a good NHL goalie, and has posted a .884 SV% this year; that said, he's a UFA next year, and is basically just a throw-in to aid the tank. A fourth round pick this year isn't great value for Reimer in a market where Cam friggin' Talbot fetched a 2nd round pick, let alone one in 2018 (update: the pick is conditional, in case you thought this trade didn't suck already; further update: the condition is it becomes a 3rd if San Jose reaches the Cup Final, so disregard)

(UPDATE: the conditional 4th is conditional on the Sharks making the Stanley Cup Final, otherwise no pick and it'll be a 3rd rounder if they do)

Overall, I find this trade very, very underwhelming for the Leafs. That said, this is the kind of trade you make when you have a UFA who isn't close to an extension. I see the logic in wanting to get something for nothing, but an AHL-NHL tweener and mid-round draft pick two years from now is, to put it bluntly, a crap return for James Reimer.

As a fan's perspective, this trade sucks. It goddamn sucks. I will always love James Reimer, and there was this part of me that never wanted him to play for any other team. At least it was the Sharks, I guess. This would be a lot harder if it was a team I hate.

OVERALL VERDICT: maybe a trade that had to be made, but a pretty sub-par trade. I give it a C-. an F. (EDIT: grade changed because I don't think the Sharks are honestly getting past the first or second round, so they basically traded Reimer and a career AHLer for a worse goalie and another career AHLer, which blows)

Awful, awful, no good, very bad trade.

UNLESS:

We see him back.