ARLINGTON, VA — Rémi Poirier left New Jersey before he’d even broken in his new pads.
After playing four seasons for the Dallas Stars organization, Poirier has spent nearly as much time in transit this fall as he has on the ice. The New Jersey Devils claimed Poirier off of waivers shortly before Opening Night, but that didn’t mean he was getting a true shot at the NHL.
With goaltenders Jake Allen and goaltenders Nico Daws already in a comfortable tandem, Poirier hardly even practiced with the Devils after the claim — and that was before New Jersey acquired star netminder Connor Hellebuyck on October 23.
Poirier was getting ready for a rare practice on Sunday, his first since receiving his customized New Jersey pads, when he got the call that he’d been traded. Instead, that brand-new Devils gear made its debut in Arlington.
The trade, which saw the Capitals acquire Poirier for a seventh-round pick, didn’t come as much of a shock.
“I was not that surprised because Sunny (Mehta), GM of the Devils, told me a little bit (that) he was trying to find something for me” Poirier said on Monday. “I just woke up every day and whatever happened, happened.”
Poirier’s experience in New Jersey, especially the lack of practice time, wasn’t easy, though he didn’t express any ill will towards the organization.
“As a hockey player, you want to practice, you want to play games, and (that) didn’t happen with the Devils. It’s all right,” he said. “I understand their situation over there.”
Instead, that month in Newark only made Poirier more grateful for things he once took for granted.
“I did a couple two-on-ones today, I was like a kid on Christmas Day,” he said. “I was like, ‘It’s so nice to to take an actual two-on-one and shots from the point.’ I feel like usually goalies hate shots from the point, and today I was so excited to receive them.”
Poirier rotated in and out of net on Monday’s practice, where the Capitals had a whopping four goaltenders on the ice: starter Logan Thompson, backup Charlie Lindgren, emergency backup goalie Connor Leslie, and Poirier. The situation isn’t ideal, with less ice time to go around during drills, but Poirier was just happy to skate alongside NHL teammates again.
Monday’s limited ice time means Poirier hasn’t undergone a longtime rite of passage for Capitals goalies: taking a shot from Alex Ovechkin. He knows what he’ll do when the moment comes, though.
“Hopefully at some point I get a little shot,” he said. “I’m going to let it in. It’s going to be better like that.”
Fellow Québecois Pierre-Luc Dubois was the first to reach out to Poirier after the trade, with Anthony Beauvillier, another Quebec native, close behind.
“The French, it’s always like that,” Poirier quipped.
He’s also particularly enjoyed the chance to get to know Charlie Lindgren, who began his NHL career with Poirier’s hometown Montreal Canadiens.
“It’s really fun to see some guys that I saw play when I was younger, and now I play with those guys,” Poirier said.
While Monday’s practice was a welcome improvement to Poirier’s routine, it’s unlikely that DC can give him a truly stable place to land. Like New Jersey, the Capitals are comfortable with their tandem of Thompson and Lindgren, and head coach Spencer Carbery has declined to offer a specific plan for how he will utilize the three goalies now under his watch.
“It could be 48 hours. It could be 72 hours. It could be three months,” Carbery said on Sunday.
Poirier may ultimately be bound for Hershey as a replacement for Clay Stevenson, who the Capitals lost to waivers at the start of the season. Mitch Gibson, who is relatively inexperienced compared to Stevenson, is now the only Hershey goalie under NHL contract, which left Washington in a shaky position if an injury took out Thompson or Lindgren for a serious length of time.
But getting Poirier to Hershey would require exposing him to waivers. The Stars were unsuccessful when they tried to sneak Poirier through the waiver wire in September, and that was before a season-ending injury to Igor Shesterkin left the New York Rangers floundering in net, increasing the odds that they would claim Poirier if he became available.
Trading for Poirier could also be the first step in a larger move for the Capitals, who have been involved in speculation surrounding Red Wings center Dylan Larkin.
If the Capitals are simply holding their cards close to their chest, they haven’t tipped their hand to Poirier, either.
“They’re going to let me know, but I think I know as much as you guys right now,” Poirier told reporters when asked about the Capitals’ plans for him.
For the moment, Poirier remains somewhat in limbo, now with his third organization in two months. Most of his belongings are nearly 2,000 miles away in Frisco, Texas, and his path to playing time at any level remains murky.
Even so, Poirier has taken the chaos of the last month in stride. And at the very least, he’s getting to spend time skating with a team again.
“It’s part of hockey. It’s part of business,” he said. “Honestly, with the Devils, (the) thing happened, and I cannot do much about it, and it is what it is.”
“But it’s nice to come back to practicing. Hopefully at some point I can get settled. I don’t know if it’s going to be here, in Hershey, or somewhere else. But like I said earlier, I’m just living day-by-day and hopefully at some point I get a shot in the NHL. If not, I’m going to go work in the American League. It’s not the worst thing ever.”
