Hockey player turned hockey analyst Nick Kypreos broke the news this afternoon that Antti Niemi will sign with the San Jose Sharks as soon as tomorrow. Early reports have Niemi signed to a one-year deal worth $2 million. More details will come out soon enough regarding his contract, but my initial reaction to the numbers at hand is Niemi could have had a similar deal in Chicago.
He can’t be too pleased with the job his agent Bill Zito did this off-season. He failed to acknowledge the 2010 goaltending market. It was oversaturated, and goalies made far from top dollar. Zito postured and claimed to have his client’s best interest all summer, but went into the arbitration hearing with an asking price well upward of $3 million. When Niemi was awarded $2.75 million by the arbitrator, it was easy for Stan Bowman to walk away knowing he had Marty Turco locked up as Plan B.
Niemi leaves a familiar setting behind with the organization that brought him into the NHL, as well as a good situation for any goaltender. He would start over 60 games for the Blackhawks, with one of the best defensive teams in the league playing in front of him every night. In San Jose, Niemi will split time in net with Antero Niittymaki – who also has a $2 million salary-cap hit – for a team built around scoring. His open market value as an unrestricted free agent in 2011 would have been higher if he stayed in Chicago.
Once again, I digress. Doug Wilson’s latest act as general manager of the Sharks was the second part of hopefully a two part plan to screw over the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. First was the $3.5 million offer-sheet to Niklas Hjalmarsson, and now this. His master plan came full circle. Wilson has a Stanley Cup winning goaltender at a reasonable price tag.
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