crazy thought

[WOOTPOKER]

i for one, am not too concerned about our goaltending situation. i have always liked leighton. he was very solid in the playoffs and unfortunately people will always remember his 2009-10 season as him choking in the finals. but in reality, he wasnt THAT bad in the finals, and some of those bad goals should have been saved but not ALL were his fault. i think the primary thing that cost us that cup is the 3rd pairing, and we addressed that already. our defense is LOTS better than it was last year, and last year it was pretty amazing. goaltending should not be an issue, especially with a guy like bobrovsky or eriksson emerging from the wings in a year or 2 to take over as our number one, and both are predicted to be very solid number 1 goalies.

but its 2 AM and since i have nothing better to do, im gonna just throw out a crazy scenario, which i dont really support..but think it might be interesting.

why not pursue niemi? he makes 2.75 mil in 2010-11.

we have 877K in cap space.
if we waive boucher, that clears up 925K in cap space, not sure how waivers work, but i think we pay half his salary, so idk if that means 925 or 450K of cap space, so lets just say 450K

then trade walker for a draft pick, we free up another 1.7 mil.

880K + 450K + 1.7K = roughly 3 mil in space, enough to sign niemi.

we would then have the two stanley cup finalist goalies.

just a thought.

dont really support the idea, but figured id throw the crazy idea out there.

any thoughts?

 

[chy1127]

If we waive Bouch, we clear his full salary. The 1/2 hit is if we triead to recall him and he is claimed, then still count 1/2 his salary.

I think the problem with Niemi is that not many are convinced that he is an upgrade. For as bad as most say Leighton did during the finals, Niemi was not a whole lot better.

Since nothing has happened yet, I am still convinced that Homer feels that Leighton is our best shot. Either that or he knows something that he ain't sharing with us.

 

[indyflyr]

my feeling is that niemi is better than leighton. not head and shoulders better. but a modest upgrade. so i would not be upset to see him on the team. he's younger, more athletic, covers the bottom of the net better than leighton. it's not a terrible idea. at the end of the day, he would steal more games than leighton.

 

[chy1127]

Just remember, Leighton is the Man

 

[FlyerFinFan]

my feeling is that niemi is better than leighton. not head and shoulders better. but a modest upgrade. so i would not be upset to see him on the team. he's younger, more athletic, covers the bottom of the net better than leighton. it's not a terrible idea. at the end of the day, he would steal more games than leighton.

But is he worth the difference in salary...that's the Q? I'd rather wait for one of the young bucks in the system push him or find a young guy with more potential now....Leights will be a great backup!

 

[anderwho2513]

Leighton's sv% behind a porous 3rd pairing playing 10 minutes a game in the regular season: .918

Niemi's sv% behind the best defense in the league: .912

Almost twice the salary for less production. That sounds fantastic!

 

[FlyerFinFan]

Leighton's sv% behind a porous 3rd pairing playing 10 minutes a game in the regular season: .918

Niemi's sv% behind the best defense in the league: .912

Almost twice the salary for less production. That sounds fantastic!

Yep that's my point and now that Homer has made that 3rd pairing better you'd think Leights would be better so are you really accomplishing anything by signing a guy like niemi who has questions marks surrounding his play too?