A taste of the NHL postseason is hard to forget.

And while the Maple Leafs won't formally honor James Reimer on Thursday in his return to Toronto as a member of the Florida Panthers, Nazem Kadri will always remember how the goalie gave the team a fighting chance in a first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins in 2013.

"That little playoff stint we had is a memory I won't forget, and just how (Reimer) played that year," Kadri said Thursday, per Mark Masters of TSN. "He was a tremendous leader. He did everything he could to put us in the best situation ... He was just kind to everybody."

Everyone remembers how that series ended, with the Maple Leafs infamously collapsing in Game 7 after amassing a 4-1 third-period lead. Reimer allowed the four goals against in a short period of time, but his overall performance during the series was quite impressive, coming out of it with a .923 save percentage.

That it was the team's only playoff appearance since 2004 only added to the significance of how he played, and the eventual result.

With all of that well in the past, Kadri and Reimer will now be on opposite ends of the ice, with thoughts of a head-to-head moment on their minds:

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.