When Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney signed veteran forward James van Reimsdyk in the summer of 2023, it surprised some. He spent his first 14 years in the league between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
After he was signed, he ended up playing a big role for the Black and Gold and coach Jim Montgomery. Boston was coming off a 2022-23 regular season in which they set the NHL record for wins and points in an 82-game season before suffering a devastating first-round postseason elimination at the hands of the Florida Panthers after blowing a 3-1 series lead.
Anyway, JVR played in 71 regular-season games and was very productive with 11 goals and 27 assists, with a plus/minus of plus-7 while averaging 13:30 a night. He played in the middle six for Montgomery and was huge on the power-play units that season, with four goals and seven points on the man advantage. He was well worth the $3 million contract he signed for one year. van Riemsdyk had one goal and five playoff points in 11 games.
After he left Boston, he had stints in the last two seasons of one year each, with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings. He remains unsigned with camps less than a month away. Matt Larkin of the Daily Faceoff listed the top remaining free agents this summer, and JVR was on the list.
Former Bruins forward still looking for work
Larkin listed who he believes are the top remaining free agents this summer, and joining van Riemsdyk were Patrik Laine, Logan Stanley, Vladimir Tarasenko, Michael Bunting, Eeli Tolvanen, Cam Talbot, John Klingberg, Nick Blankenburg, Connor Ingram, Jonathan Drouin, Adam Henrique, Carson Soucy, James Reimer and David Perron.
That's an impressive list of veterans that is still available, but JVR being available is a little surprising given how well he has played the last couple of seasons. In 2024-25, he had 16 goals and 20 assists for the Blue Jackets before scoring 15 goals last season for the Red Wings, who fell apart down the stretch of the regular season and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
JVR is certainly a player that a team will take a chance on with a potential one-year deal or a PTO for training camp. He clearly still has something left in the tank for a team that is looking for a veteran to come in and provide leadership, as well as be able to produce anywhere in the bottom nine of the lineup.
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