NHL Hockey: Sharks Hosed by Blown Call in San Jose Last Night...

s/t Duck Daddy. Check this out, the San Jose Sharks got hosed last night, it appears that the Sharks did in fact score the game-winning goal. I am surprised that this wasn't reviewed by the war room in Toronto. The Buffalo Sabres would go on to win the game in a shootout, that was only the third win of the season for the Buffalo Sabres.

I know NHL is going to get destroyed for no-goal in SJ, but neither broadcast had it quickly and BUF's didn't show it at all. If ref says...
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 6, 2013

no-goal on-ice, I'm not sure how that one is getting caught. Not a great moment...but I can see how it happens. Ugh.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 6, 2013

(Video) Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom injured during warm ups.

Shall we say that the series is not starting out well for the Minnesota Wild, as their starting goalie Niklas Backstrom was injured during warm ups. The Wild's Backstrom was tied for first in wins with Henrik Lundqvist and Antti Niemi.

The backup goalie, Josh Harding has played in only five games all season long and only two games since January 30, 2013 and was unimpressive in relief against the Edmonton Oilers letting in three goals in the first four shots that he faced. The line on Harding, 1-1-0 .863 Save percentage and 3.20 GAA.

Tale of Two Goaltenders: One stops Goals, the other Stops Dreams

Recently, three things happened in the NHL:

1. Kovalchuk finally signed with the Devils. Yawn.

2. Antti Niemi signs with the San Jose Sharks

3. Carey Price Gouged the Canadiens.

#1: Who cares. At least it is finally over. Now the Devils can start dismantling other key assets to try to make cap space. Probably Salvador, Rolston, and who cares. The only weird rumors revolve around Travis Zajac and Zach Parise. One rumor is that the Devils will try to trade or waive Zajac. That's ridiculous because he's much better than Rolston and younger to boot. The other is more plausible. Kovalchuk's signing may mean the end of the Parise era in NJ once Zach's contract is up.

#2: You can just hear Antero Niiitttiiimaaaakiiiii collapse in somewhat sad state. On one hand, Antero's gonna make some $$$ sitting on the bench. On the other hand, he comes skipping into Southern California singing "Zippadedoo dah!! Zippedi-AY! I finally get the #1 job hoo-ray!" only to have Niemi rain on his parade. So, oh well. At least most fans won't have to guess how many double vowels Antero's last name has. It's obvious I'm beyond caring. The only thing I don't understand is this: Niemi signs for 1 year, $2 million. If he offered that kind of a contract to Chicago, do you think they would have walked away? Admittedly, it's only $750K less than the arbitrator awarded him but it could have made a difference.

#3: Carey Price signed a 2 year, $5.5 million contract with the Canadiens. Wow. Hopefully that's $5.5 million in Canadian currency otherwise, the Habs seriously overpaid. Price is only Right when it amounts to about $1.5 million a year. The only positive Price brings to the table is his age. He's young. He could turn into a good goaltender someday... but he has to mature yet. Something he's shown time and time again that it's not possible. The good news for the Habs is that they didn't pull a Huet and signed Price long term. There is NO WAY IN HELL Price is worth as much as Halak is getting in St. Louis or what Niemi would have gotten in Chicago had Chicago not walked away. NO WAY.

It's a sad day when all Niemi can get is $2 million over 1 year and the most overrated goaltender in the NHL gets $2.75 million each year for 2 years.

Hawk flies away (RW77)

Over the weekend, the arbitrator awarded Antti Niemi $2.75 million contract, which is roughly $1 million less than his agent was seeking. So it seemed to be a victory for the Hawks, since they could theoretically fit Niemi's new contract under the cap...barely.

Wrong.

Today the Hawks said "Thanks for your hard work. Good luck somewhere else." And now Niemi is a free agent.

Instead, the Hawks signed veteran Marty Turco to a 1 year $1.75 million contract. This gives the Hawks roughly between $600K and $1.35 million of cap relief (it was rumored that Niemi's contract would have roughly put them 400K over the cap).

I really can't blame either side. Niemi is worth $2.75 million per year. However, it was very unlikely that the Hawks would have any money to re-sign Niemi next year anyways with Seabrook headlining that year's free agent class and Huet still being under contract for at least one more year (IIRC).

What does this mean for Chicago?

Well, they've lost almost ALL of their depth. They still have very little cap space. Niemi was good, but there's no telling how his sophomore year would be. Would it be Roy-esque or would it be like Cam Ward (good, but nowhere near his rookie year)? Unfortunately, it's a risky loss for Chicago, but it just came one year earlier than expected.

What does it mean for Niemi?

It could mean trouble. This isn't Carey Price throwing a tantrum. This is a good, upcoming goaltender who was on a team that liked him (and from what I could tell, he liked being a Hawk) and he just wanted to get what he was worth. There are teams that could use Niemi (San Jose, Montreal, Dallas, Atlanta, Philadelphia) but most can't afford it.

My guess?

Niemi signs with the Flyers. Let's face it, this is Christmas for Philly and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if Niemi's stay as a free agent lasts less than 72 hours.

Niemi and Leighton combo with their D is a good potent combo. It may make Philly Stanley Cup favorites.

************************
If I had inside information in Montreal, I'd have a better idea but...

If I were Gauthier, I'd talk to Niemi's agent. If Montreal can get Niemi for cheaper than Price's asking price for the same or similar length of contract, I'd sign Niemi and tell Price to go take a flying leap...

************************

To respond to Goon: Setoguchi is a diver, but he's also a pretty decent player. I'd take Setoguchi before I'd ever consider Carcillo

Reports: Niemi nets $2.75 million in arbitration

The Arbitration hearing is over and the decision has been made. It will be interesting to see what happens now, the Chicago Blackhawks have cap issues and not a lot of room to work with.

An arbitrator has set Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Antti Niemi's salary at $2.75 million, according to a report on ESPN.com

The Hawks now have 48 hours to decide whether they want to walk away and make Niemi an unrestricted free agent immediately, or accept the arbitrator's decision and sign Niemi at that salary for one season. The Hawks could also accept the decision, sign and then trade the goalie.

Niemi was expected to seek at least $3 million, after making $827,000 last season while leading Chicago to the Stanley Cup title. Because of salary-cap constraints, the Hawks were believed to be seeking a decision in the $2 million range. [TSN.CA]