Niemi signs with San Jose
Posted by TimS on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 17:23
According to multiple reports, former Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi has agreed to a one-year deal with the San Jose Sharks.
Niemi’s contract is said to be worth $2 million.
Niemi was awarded a $2.75 million award in arbitration in July, which the Hawks walked away from on Aug. 2.
The same day the Hawks walked away from Niemi they signed Marty Turco as a free agent to be their No. 1 goalie. Turco signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal.
It has been confirmed that Ludvig Rensfeldt has not gone home and will play in the Toronto Prospects tourney.
I would suspect that a good showing there will have him in Hawk camp.
They may end up having another option quicker than we think...
so let's just get started and roll!...i got 1 question for the experts out there?........do we have any scratch left for a center for hossa? thats 1 thing we didn't have starting last october was marion hossa from game 1! speaking of centers, does wayne primeau have anything left in the gas tank? the kid got some good size and i always though he's a decent 3-4 thline center, then they could move bolland up a notch to go between hossa and sharp. thats another plum starting from game 1, a healthy dave bolland! timmy or anyone close to scotty, you want to ask about that 1? i saw primeau looking around last week, still unsigned..................can't wait till we play dallas,............i heard "adam the enforcer" on the dallas sports talk radio show recently drumming it up how much he's gonna love playing with steve ott!....alreadt writing checks with your mouth that your ass probably isn't gonna be able to cash adam? i'm hoping kyle beach has a good camp and makes the team!
Benny have to aks you if the mens you writ about hit hit each other in head and nose? My brother Eternils Feelds like to hit me and say no fighter no cup what dat mean mr stnc? I dunt like when the mens hit hit like eternils beat me he mad at you mr stnc he tell me so. he say dat you ran away frum him when he pull down his pant and wiggle his litlle guy at you do you want to hit him I want you to hit hit eternils so he cry and bleed like benny will you proteck me mr stnc pleez? Benny have to hide now Eternils has rake in his hand …noo no I hide I hide
thats all i can tell you!
thats all i can tell you!
More like Trollville
Looks like there may have been an agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA on long term deals. Read this on another thread...
"As part of the agreement, the NHL will register the contract between the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk that was filed with the League on August 27, 2010. The NHL also will terminate its circumvention investigations into the contracts signed in 2009 by Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks, Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks, Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins and Chris Pronger of the Philadelphia Flyers."
"For the purpose of Salary Cap calculations, any long-term contract that extends past a player’s 41st birthday will be valued and accounted for in two ways: The compensation for all seasons that do not include or succeed the player’s 41st birthday will be totaled and divided by the number of those seasons to determine the annual average value (AAV) charged against the team’s Cap for those seasons. In all subsequent seasons, the team’s Cap charge will be the actual compensation paid to the player in that season (or seasons, as appropriate).
Additionally, in any long-term contract that averages more than $5.75 million for the three
highest-compensation seasons, the following rule shall apply: Solely to determine its value for
purposes of the Salary Cap, a player’s compensation for any season in which he is age 36, 37, 38, 39 and/or 40 shall be valued at a minimum of $1 million."
For the capologists out there, how will this affect the Hawks over the life of Hoss's contract, and especially next year and resigning Seabs?
Because there was an agreement Hossa's contract is grandfathered. The NHL was threatening to void Hossa's and Luongo's contracts because they circumvent the salary cap. The NHL may have been bluffing on that but if they weren't the Hawks dodged a bullet because if the deal had to be restructured the Hawks surely would have had to move more salary to keep Hossa or lose Hossa.
I like him, He brings lots of intangeables to the game and his shift. He has great hockey sense, makes everyone on his line better, and played better defense than i thought - but towards the end of the season, he wasn't the sharpshooter that i was lead to believe, didn't score the big goals, and blew too many opportunites to score. He also took a few too many penalties for my liking and sometimes at in opportune times. Of course, some calls were bad.
At this price, it is an ok deal. Yea, he was coming off a shoulder injury. So we will see how Hossa does this year. But if they had to renogiate his contract - maybe he would take less and the extra cash could be set aside for a #2 center. Because Bolland isn't the answer.
Go Hawks!
This team is much better off with Hossa. He isn't the leagues greatest player, but the guy makes everyone around him better, and he does everything a high level and at high speeds. Until he starts to drop off, the guy is a bargin.
If you want to talk about missed scoring chances last season... How about how Buff couldn't take a pass to save his life when Kane set him up time and time again. Or how about how Kane put about 2 chances a game wide over the top of the net.
About Hossa. I know you like him, I just wanted to point out he isn't the only guy that misses chances and the guy is often the best player they have on the ice.
I believe it does nothing to Hossa's contract or any contract which was already signed, only those going forward.
Why is it that San Jose, or any other team for that matter, didn't have to abide by the arbitrator's ruling and give Niemi the 2.75? Does the player exchange the arbitration award for the right to unrestricted free agency? Is that the rationale?
that 2.75 mil went out the door. It was accept or reject, opening the avenues for more sensible numbers to replace the ridiculous.
The Maple Leafs just signed Clarke MacArthur who Atlanta walked away from.
That is how it works....the only one bound in the arbitrstion where the two parties involved.
You see Brent is psychologically scared by being not only an Anchor Baby but also being left for dead and abandoned in a tin shanty just out side War Road , MN. You see his parents were day workers, illegally crossing the border on a daily basis to build pallets and mop at the Marvin Window factory there. He was very emaciated and dehydrated but the border patrol found him just as he was on his last breath. I have faith he has made a full recovery and will skate quite well.
I’ve done extensive work with orphans and while he still exhibits traits of an abandoned child such as screaming in his sleep, night time sexual assaults on others, shoplifting and giving random women thorough beatins, Donald Fehr and Stans medical teams have made amazing progress. So he’s will be fun to watch again this year and will get 4-4.5 mill contract.
Have a Safe weekend boys
Jeff #11 Shantz
While turco can look Huet like, the one hopeful piece that he adds is his ability to play the puck. At times this can be disastrous, but over the course of an 82 game season, I think Keith, Hjammer and Campbell especially will appreciate the fact that they won't eat as much glass because of this. Niemi won a cup and you can't take that away from him. Still think Zito did him Zero favors by getting him a tryout with SJ, but it's over and I wish that kid nothing but the best.
ditto on Zito
Niemi's signing for $2 million in SJ shows just how out-of-touch the arbitrator was with the $2.75 million salary.
It also shows that goalies probably won't be getting big money or long contracts for a few years. Huet, Bobbi Lu and DiPietro are on the minds of GMs.
The teams (CHI, BUF, ATL) aren't doing as good of a job presenting their side of the case. The arbitrator is listening to both sides and is consistently siding more with the player/agent. Now the teams are signing these players (after their original team is walking away) for a lot less. So their value is a lot lower then the arb award. Can't fault the arb if the team can't show reason why the player isn't worth what they are asking for.
As in the past, a few unreasonably high signings drive up the value of everyone at that position. I'd like to see more owners sending these player agents a message not to make unreasonable demands.
It's hard to blame players for trying to get everything they can, given that a carreer ending injury could happen at any time.
I think perhaps an insurance policy against that event would be a good idea. Have it cover the entire lifetime average earnings of the player.
And once a team has built up a reputation of doing right by its players, they should be more willing to take a little less, knowing they will be fairly rewarded in the future.
who should take it out? - the players in case they get hurt. or the owner in case a player doesn't perform to his contract or gets hurt.
I totally agree - some players get overpaid. Can anyone believe Koivu got over 6 mil a year for the Wild.
Again - how good would Kovalchuk be with other good players or Crosby and Malkin with wingers? But the players do well because of a team effort, and then they think they did it. The media doesn't help - the biggest cheerleaders. Like Buf, he did well by scoring - but lots of that was due to Toews and Kane. And Toews and Kane need someone with a touch around the net. Really, how good is Brouwer? Even Bickel looked good playing on that line. But if Toews and Kane don't get that other player - they look bad. Brouwer is adequate, but just think if they really had a guy with a presence around the net. But i am sure, the players don't look at that way - it is out of their hand. too bad
Halak got the same money. The problem with the Niemi situation was timing. I doubt any teams felt that he would become available, therefore teams like Philly, the Blues and even SJ at that time struck fast to get a goalie. His arb date wasn't until the 29th of July and by that time most teams had their goalie or were up against the cap. The reason that he signed a 1 yr deal is because he will be a UFA next year. If he plays as well as he did this yr, then he will have many taklers and won't have to wait until the end of July which will mean big time $'s. Vokoun is coming off the books in FLA and Niemi may just take his spot and get reunited with Tallon. The hammer deal cost the hawks niemi. Personally, I prefer Niemi over Turco. I have seen Niemi make the tough saves under pressure. Turco was the netminder for a team that had 112 pts and 107 pts and they both lost in the 1st round. Hopefully, Turco will prove me wrong.
I think Niemi's value is all in the eyes of the person giving him the contract. He has only played 42 regular season games so it can't be said that he is a future stud or a future bust. Sure teams filled their goaltending issues but don't you think if Philly were totally convinced Niemi was the missing piece they would kick Leighton to the minors to clear his $1.5 cap hit? How about Washington sitting there with over $5 million in cap space? They got ousted by phenomenal goaltending from Halak (who in my opinion is a better goalie then Niemi). Don't you think they would have taken a chance on Niemi is they thought he would carry them to the Finals? Right no one can really say what Niemi is. He won a Cup. I am ecstatic about that. However, J.S. Giguere also won a Cup. I don't think he ever has been a must have guy either. Habby won a Cup. Maybe he was too old by the time the Hawks were strong but he was terrible despite the team, which is the opposite of what I think an elite goalie is.
It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out. I think every Hawk fan will be watching Turco vs Niemi more then what Byf, Ladd, or Versteeg are doing.
Agreed and Agreed. Good post!
In net...shark fins
how many Fins can a shark have before it stops being a shark?
I've been hearing rumblings all day about the possibility of the NHL voiding Hossa's contract along with Luongo's unless the players union agrees not to have the players sign those type of long term contracts which circumvent the cap in the future. Does anyone think this is a possibility or just posturing?
According to Larry Brooks out of NY supposedly the League has issue the players association an "ultimatum",claiming the league will "grandfather" the Devils contract offer for Ilya Kovalchuk, Roberto Luongo's 12 year contract with the Vancouver Canucks, and Marian Hossa's 12 year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks under these conditions:
1. That the cap hit on future multi-year contracts will not count any seasons that end with the player over 40 years of age. The cap hit would be calculated on the average of the salary up through age 40 only.
2. That the cap hit on future contracts longer than five years will be calculated under a formula granting additional weight to the five years with the highest salary."
Brooks adds if the PA refuses or common ground isn't reached via negotiation the league threatens to reject the Kovalchuk contract, void Luongo's contract and open a formal investigation into Hossa's contract.
The league is reccommending contracts no more than 5 years too. It was reported in the wake of the rejection of Kovalchuk's contract that the PA would file grievances on the behalf of the players (Luongo, Hossa, Chris Pronger and Marc Savard) whose contracts were singled out in the arbiter's decision.
The league has already investigated Luongo's contract suggesting if the league had found any wrongdoing it would've acted by now, pointing out the NHLPA can grieve deregistering Luongo's contract.
The Canucks could have a better case than the Devils did with Kovalchuk when the PA grieved the league's rejection of his first contract as Luongo will make more in the final three years of the contract than Kovalchuk would've plus Luongo lacks a "no-movement" clause.
Hossa's already played a year under his deal so it could get sticky there, especially since the Blackhawks dumped so much salary this summer to become cap compliant.
I think what we are seeing is an attempt by the owners to close a loophole and their making of the 40 years old age as the mark on the contract's validity.
Personally I am hoping Kovy goes to Russia - he is not in the elite players and doesn't deserve the salary that Screwy Louie is putting out there as an attempt to be Cup loaded this season.
HEY, who changed my FONT ?????
How does contract law play into this? Hossa and others have already played under the terms of their deals. I read somewhere, and sorry I don't remember where, that Hossa would have a very good case if the NHL tried to void his deal.
The league just was using those contracts as ones they threatened to "look into" because they wanted every GM to know that they didn't like the loopho;e and were NOW closing it.
These rumors haven't been backed by anyone involved, so don't read into it.
Gary Bettman is what is most wrong about the NHL. He would be well advised not to get all uppity on this subject because it is going to come back and bite him very hard in the keester. What Bettman should be focused on is contraction....that and relocating a couple teams back to Canada. There are ridicuously too many franchises in the NHL right now and it is a model that is unsustainable. Just wait to price Donald Fehr sinks his fangs into the owners too.
All is NOT well for the NHL. Not by a long stretch.
What a position to be in.
Defending SC Champs
A Roster loaded with talent
Two good goalies
A defense to die for
Hossa, Kane, Toews, Sharp
2005-6
4 in Central 14 in West Confe
Calder, Bell, Arnason, Borque, Vrbata, Lapointe, Barnaby
Khabby, Anderson and Munro in net
We have come a long way in 5 years. Suck it up and celebrate all year. We will win it all in 2011-12
once niemi signs he'll give the old blah blah speach"here is where i wanted to be,they really wanted me and treat their people well"! ect.ect.ect...see tsn.ca on today's niemi story. you we're right on!!!.....so i agree with some people when they say no loyalty to the hawks and chicago by zito/niemi. so i guess it's time to move on to corey crawford's era. i don't think scotty will spend big dough on a goalie unless it's luongo. how would he do in front of this hawks team? yah, us as hawks fans like to stir the pot and get under his skin, but the bottom line is he's a damn good goalie who would be great in front of this team!so we'll ride it out with mini tony o for a year or 2 and hopefully crawford becomes even better than niemi! he certainly has the size and talent to be just that!.unrelated.........as far as the word "transition year", at 10 grand a year with prices on the rise, i don't like that term at all!49 years without a cup, we win and they gut the team!why do i feel that we are going to be the wings of last year?just asking?..hard to put the word transition year in the same sentence while writing a 10 grand check!?
on the label "transition" year. There is no such thing. The team and the players are going into this season like any other, with hopes of claiming the cup. There are 82 games to play and hopefully some playoff rounds before we can label this season. Right now, it's a clean slate and a chance to repeat, if things go well.
I've got to say I'm with philco on this one. Niemi was much better than a lot of fans are giving him credit for. To those who think the Hawks defense made Niemi, of course they did. But that's a two way street. Where were you the times Niemi bailed out the defense? Selective memory is a dangerous thing and can be harmful to your favorite hockey teams health. Nobody has any real reason, other than they hope so, to believe Turco will be anything but what he's always been. And I'm not sure what he's always been is good enough to get us where we want to go. Some of the Dallas teams that Turco backstopped to a flame-out playoff exit were pretty damn good. It's not like he's been playing for the Thrashers the last 10 years. Sometimes the answer to why somebody doesn't have their name on the Cup is in the mirror. Niemi may turn out to be a bust, but he has not yet given anyone reason to believe that'll be the case. But greater hockey minds than us have determined this is the way to go. So here we go.
and I think your idea about niemi might be announcer kool-aid based than complete game play. The guy was great in the clutch and we won a Cup in front of him.
We shall never forget. But go back and watch the scary moments where oh so many shots if placed differently would have changed outcomes. (I know you can swing that one both ways.)
The holes were still there.
I will shut my fat mouth if he wins S J a Cup.
Niemi made some big saves and the Hawks carried him through some tough games as well. There are always holes to shoot at so we'll see what happens in SJ this year. If Niemi shows he is more then a goalie who thrived by just being on the Hawks then he will get his money. He has to play really well this year to do that. SJ is supposed to be a Cup contender so there isn't much margin for error.
I see in Tim's article - the Hawks lowballed 1.5 mil (was this only for arbritration - - But i thought i heard better numbers like around 2 mil a year or so. Not sure what Niemi wanted. But Niemi was the benefactor of a good Hawks team with a solid defense. You can see the games all year - the Hawk's goalies only had to make a few big saves a game. Or maybe Niemi made it look easy. But Niemi's style is to take away the bottom half of the net, and was usually weak on top -- especially glove. But he seams like his style produces lots of rebounds. Niemi also got lots of breaks as well as some bad breaks. I remember in a few games - he got beat by a deflection off of a Hawk defensemen.
It would have been nice to keep Niemi - but SB should have signed Niemi back in March. Because he was the man. Unless - Zito was already asking for big bucks.
It was nice to see the Hawks not chasing for an old goalie or overpaying niemi. Khabby played well, but he also lost a little of his awesomeness.
By the way - did anyone see Madden signed for 1 mil a year? Zito is his agent too.
Regardless of how it happened, we now have Turco. Smaller yes. Quicker though. Handles the puck better and rebounds better. Niemi really needs to work on handling the puck better. How many times did Keith or Seabrook clear the biscuit out of the crease for him.
However, if Niemi can do that and show up for 3 periods every game, he has a chance to be one of the best in the league. Time will tell. The Hawks have had bad luck when they give up young goaltenders. Belfour, Hasek, etc.
Belfour was 32 when traded to San Jose; he would have been younger if we'd gone with Hasek who, honestly, didn't set the world afire as a backup. He wasn't even the starter his first year in Buffalo. He was actually traded not just because Belfour was No. 1, but because OF Belfour, who had jealousy issues with every understudy he ever had. (See: Hackett, Jeff.)
People keep mentioning or implying that Turco hasn't won anything yet. You're probably the same folks complaining last year that Quenneville had never gotten past the WCFs.
Ray Bourque was in the league 20 years before he won.
But to be honest, I don't expect us to repeat this year especially with the roster changes, though I think those ironically abate that pressure. It won't be Turco's fault, whatever happens. I'm not gonna sit here and cast doubt on Niemi, but I am interested to see how he handles a lesser defense. He'll win his share (probably in a platoon again) because -- don't forget -- the Sharks are pretty good. But this is also his second year, always rough for athletes and rock bands.
I have to agree with 700 miles...if you look at both SJ and the Blackhawks you have to wonder just how much both teams added or lost by goalie departures and additions.
The management in SJ obviously thought it was Nabakov's goaltending and the deficiencies in their present rearguards that lead to their complete unraveling by a talent thick Blackhawk roster.
The reason the average SJ fan was given for the departure of the Nabakov's hefty Cap hit was that is was time to give Thomas Griess some NHL on the job with Nittymaki carry a bit of the load.
The Chicago fan was told it was all about the money, but the Turco press conference verified what Steve from Chicago had said with certainty - that IF the Niemi - Zito camp did not agree to a deal prior to arbitration, they were gone.
I think that you have to believe that the Hawks brain trust saw Turco as much more than a stopgap…that Scotty and company think that his veteran leadership and commitment to go to the final dance and return to all-star acknowledged on-ice performances are what the team gains.
Would they have been happy with Niemi continuing to learn his trade in Chicago?
Did they feel comfortable that one of the Cup heroes could continue to improve and not stumble back to a status of still learning the position, now that the league had tape on him and their sites on knocking the hawks as they take their Championship from town to town?
Obviously, the holes they saw in his game weren't worth the Cap price.
I am sure Niemi will feel good about their being another Finn on the roster and one he can have lengthy conversations with as they both play the same position…unless the competition there gets fierce and competition closes that.
So Niemi goes in the annuls as "the guy who earned roster spots ahead of both Thomas Griess and Corey Crawford."
No matter if Niemi or Turco has success or not, the guy in the Blackhawk net in 2011-2012, will HAVE to make more money than what truce is going to receive…whether it is on of the above, or a 'tender from UFA. (Surely stellar play by both puts them in a better position to stay put.)
This has little to do with cliches like ice water in the veins.
It is nice that the franchise now can actually attract better vets for less...
It is interesting that both Niemi and Turco will be UFA's next summer. While I tend to fall on the side of the fence where the argument says that Turco is the better goaltender for the upcoming season, we all know that he is not a long-term solution by any means. Assuming that there were no hard feelings between Niemi and Blackhawks management -- really, there shouldn't be; Niemi thought he could cash in and the Blackhawks simply did not have the cap space -- could Niemi come back next summer and sign that multi-year deal with us? At least by next summer we will all have a better idea of just how good Niemi is/can be, having i) played an entire season and ii) played for a team whose defence is not as good as Chicago's (although still pretty darn good). Niemi has his soft games, but he also stood on his head for us in the clutch, and I would definitely welcome him back with open arms (although, I must keep in mind that I do not what was said and went on behind closed doors between Niemi's camp and the Blackhawks' management).
Will Chicago want Niemi to come back... Hard to say until the season is played.
I'd like to see him signed long term mid-season (don't even get close to RFA status) and what the cap will be.
I wouldn't mind the 'Hawks considering Nemo for 11-12.
Carey Price's bank account just got bigger with Niemi's signing.
may have just put himself in a Niemi like position of going elsewheree for less contract.
He better clean his head out.
All I know is I'd rather have Niemi over Turco. Sure, signing for less and having Tony-O as your idol sits great with me about Turco. But damn, the guy is 35 and small and he hasn't proven anything yet playoff wise. But like many said, the blame lies with Tallon's contracts, Zito, etc.
Now if we can just continually shoot from the right side to Niemi's left pad and be ready for a juicy rebound to our left wing, we'll beat Niemi everytime.
Been wondering where the fantastic fin would land. Talk about over playing a hand.
Makes the 4 games with the Sharks even more interesting and entertaining this season.
Well Zito and Niemi played hard puck and lost. It is hard to say a rookie getting a 3x increase in salary lost but one had to figure the Hawks were willing to give a multi-year some where in the vicinity of that $2mil per. Let alone the opportunity to build a legacy with a great organization with a ton of young talent.
So on the eve of camp the Sharks belly-up and Niemi/Zito cave. You had to figure going into this year with Nittimaki was not the preferred scenario for ole Douggy.
And we probably will hear from Niemi and his mouthpiece how great the Sharks are and how this is where he really wanted to play....blah blah.
So it looks like all the pressure is on those underachieving Sharks again. Good luck!