Sharks resign Niemi to a 4 year deal

[li0lsh]

San Jose Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi signed a four-year extension at nearly $4 million per year, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Niemi, who helped lead the Chicago Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup title last season, is 23-15-3 with a 2.44 goals against average and .919 save percentage.

After a four-game losing streak in January, Niemi has won 15 of his last 18 games to help the Sharks rise to No. 3 in the Western Conference.

The Blackhawks let Niemi walk after deciding an arbitration number was too high.

Source: Antti Niemi signed a contract extension with the San Jose Sharks - ESPN

 

[SJVP408]

Oh man. Doug you better know what you're doing. What's up with Stalock then? I thought he was maybe 1-2 years away. If the Niemi we've watched the past month is the real Niemi, then this is a solid signing. Doug seems like he's not sure what to do. First he wants to allocate money to a shored up blueline with a platoon goalie situation. Now he goes with a clear cut #1. Next year, there will be $6 tied up in the goalie spot (Nitty = $2).

 

[snowsurfer13sss]

its definitely worth it if the Niemi from the past 5 weeks is the Niemi we just signed...... I feel like he might have signed him to early though. might take away some of his motivation (hope im wrong) but everyone knows how much better some players play on a contract year.

 

[snowsurfer13sss]

or we could have signed him right before he takes off becomes unstopable and wins us the cup... then its a discount haha

 

[MacJ88]

I gotta say, I absolutely love this deal. Niemi has been playing out of his mind since he was given the starting job. He's just one of those goalies that gains confidence and plays better when he has his team strapped on his back and a has a heavy workload. Everything I have been hearing and reading about Nemo is that he is a horse, awesome work ethic with the hunger to keep getting better. Some may think that this deal takes away from his motivation but I am going out on a limb here and say that it adds to his motivation and he will have even more confidence knowing that he is our man and SJ is his home for at least the next 4 years. As far as Stalock goes, it is a bit of a bummer to see him get pushed back and possibly even pushed out but you never know what can happen with injuries and such. I hope he gets a chance to shine and doesn't get the Thomas Griess treatment and if he doesn't shine with us hopefully we get a hefty return for him in a deal lol.

 

[rares]

FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!

WHY!??!?!

EDIT: This post is exactly one month early, IMO. This is March, right?

 

[Cbrower91]

smart to deal with it now.then risk.losing him.in thee season. Alot of teams are looking for a goalie next year including chicago. Stalock is probably going to need another year in the.ask to make.sure is knee injury isn't limiting his range.of motion or strength

 

[Nimesis23]

There's the point about possibly losing him in the off-season to another team which is a valid one, but the other thing is if he goes into the playoffs and has a really good run then he's going to be able to command a much higher salary than the 3.8 Doug locked him up for. Hopefully he pans out but I agree that it was smart to handle it now rather than in the off-season when he could get a lot of money from teams like Detroit.

 

[snowsurfer13sss]

i feel like if he has a decent playoffs nemo could have fetched more as an UFA... But if the sharks fail to get past the first round he coulda been had for 3 IMO. So i like this gamble by DW.

 

[sjrules99]

I agree with MacJ...

this is an outstanding deal. 3.8M for a SC winning goaltender who has been playing lights out is a steal. Furthermore, unlike nabby, who signed his last deal with SJ around the age of 30 or 31, Niemi is just 27, and should be right just entering his prime. This deal covers his ages of 28, 29, 30, and 31. Granted goaltenders are not like skaters regarding their 'primes' but nevertheless, this guy can handle a huge workload, has proven himself in clutch situations, and is not likely to degrade over the life of the deal.

Also, SC winning goaltenders in their prime are pretty damn rare. The only ones out there are Cam Ward and ME Fleury. Giggy, Khabibulin, Osbad, Brodeur are all over the hill getting into their upper 30's or near retirement. What that means is that even if niemi falters, this player for this price is an extremely moveable deal if need be. I'm sure there are many teams willing to trade for a championsuip goaltender in his prime, no matter what happens for a year or two (aside from injury of course). Look at what ward is paid. Look at Fleury. Niemi is roughly 2M less despite being a UFA (not RFA), and signing in a higher cap environment. This makes all the sense in the world...

now, what happens to stalock? I don't know. Perhaps he serves 1 more AHL year, then gets 3 years backing up niemi, if he's willing to do so. At the end of niemi's deal, Stalock will be 27, so it's not like he will be too old and his career will be over. Furthermore, 3 years in the A and 3 years as an NHL backup will make him quite qualified to start at that point. of course, this all assumes that his injury is not career altering/ending. I'm not sure how dougie will play this, but at the end of the day, what matters is having good, effective players and winning, no matter what that takes. Niemi at 3.8M is a good investment and if the sharks do go far this year, there is little doubt that he would get that money and more in the open market.

 

[sjrules99]

Furthermore, the sharks do have other highly regarded goaltending prospects like Sateri. If he eventually comes over to become worcester's #1 goaltender while stalock backs up niemi, it could create a nice pipeline.

niemi as Number 1 through 2014-15 with stalock backing up. Then stalock as number one for several years with sateri backing up. The sateri can take over. Granted, this assumes a ton regarding development and what not, but the sharks should be all set in the goaltending department for a while.

hopefully now, they can focus on drafting good forwards. they have only had two top 6 forwards emerge from their drafting since 2004 (seto and couture), compared to likely 3 top 4 defensemen (demers, braun, vlasic and maybe wishart for NYI). This niemi signing solidifies the goaltending for a long time, and should allow dougie to focus on the rest of the roster much more.

 

[sjrules99]

By the way, this leaves dougie with 7.5M (or more if cap rises) left in cap space with 7 forwards, 5 Dmen (assuming braun is a full time NHLer next year), and 2 goaltenders.

he has to resign seto, I would figure since he didnt trade him, and add 4 depth forwards. Also, he clearly wants to either keep white or sign a top 4 dman too. If seto costs 2.5 and white/equivelent costs 3.5, that would leave dougie with just 1.5M to round out the bottom 4 forwards. The money doesnt seem to work unless the cap goes up by 2M. I think that could mean the departure of Mitchell or Niity, neither of which would net much in return, but I don't see how dougie can do what he needs to without moving one or both of those guys.

 

[Cmon_WTF]

It's a pretty good deal considering the corner Wilson was backed into with his goaltending situation. With the injuries to Niitymaki and Stalock, Niemi's agent could have easily held Wilson over a barrell knowing Wilson has no other options unless he wanted to pay a premium for a UFA like Voukon, Giggy, or Brysgalov.

I am a bit surprised this signing came prior to seeing how the team preforms in the PO's though.

 

[Cmon_WTF]

By the way, this leaves dougie with 7.5M (or more if cap rises) left in cap space with 7 forwards, 5 Dmen (assuming braun is a full time NHLer next year), and 2 goaltenders.

he has to resign seto, I would figure since he didnt trade him, and add 4 depth forwards. Also, he clearly wants to either keep white or sign a top 4 dman too. If seto costs 2.5 and white/equivelent costs 3.5, that would leave dougie with just 1.5M to round out the bottom 4 forwards. The money doesnt seem to work unless the cap goes up by 2M. I think that could mean the departure of Mitchell or Niity, neither of which would net much in return, but I don't see how dougie can do what he needs to without moving one or both of those guys.

Projected cap next year is $62.0m

 

[Destroydacre]

By the way, this leaves dougie with 7.5M (or more if cap rises) left in cap space with 7 forwards, 5 Dmen (assuming braun is a full time NHLer next year), and 2 goaltenders.

he has to resign seto, I would figure since he didnt trade him, and add 4 depth forwards. Also, he clearly wants to either keep white or sign a top 4 dman too. If seto costs 2.5 and white/equivelent costs 3.5, that would leave dougie with just 1.5M to round out the bottom 4 forwards. The money doesnt seem to work unless the cap goes up by 2M. I think that could mean the departure of Mitchell or Niity, neither of which would net much in return, but I don't see how dougie can do what he needs to without moving one or both of those guys.

Seto can probably be re-signed for about $2M or so again (assuming he doesn't go berserk in the playoffs). I really don't know if they're planning on giving him a multi year deal this time around. That would up his yearly cap hit some. Mitchell has got to go. Someone will take him. A 6th round pick in return seems ok. It would be great if the Sharks could find a taker for Heatley. That would give the Sharks some room to play around at the deadline next year. If Heatley could put together a productive playoffs (I realize there's no reason so far this season to think that'll happen) then it will make him a little easier to move. Still his contract is going to put off most teams.

 

[MrChangoT97]

Solid move by Doug, but I hope Doug saves as much cap as possible to make a 100 %effort to Sign Shea Weber.

Thats all I want to see Doug pull off in the off season.

 

[sjrules99]

heater is nearly unmoveable. he has had a terribad year, and is not getting younger. at 7.5M, there arent gunna any interested teams. Furthermore, I dont think dougie wants to move him. He is built in the salary structure of the team, and they can afford his money. Also, he's been bad and is in a major super slump going back to the end of last year, no question, but he has still shown over the course of his career that he can score. I think there is reason to hope that he'll find his rhythm and start potting a few.

Mitchell, on the other hand, is not NHL material. For some reason tmac plays him on one of the top 3 lines, which neutralizes whoever is unlucky enough to be paired with him. He had just gotta go, and his nearly 1.4M cap hit will disappear. That enough to sign his replacement and another guy on top of that.

however, if Cmon is right that the cap will go up to 62M, then dougie can have 3.5M to sign those bottom 4 forwards. Assuming several minor league call ups and another 700k year for nichol, the sharks should be just fine.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

4 years is more than I thought he'd get. The money is a bit high too. However considering he's won a cup & the way he's played this season I really don't think Wilson had a choice. I'm disappointed for my team but happy for Sharks fans.

 

[Stackem]

I like it. A little surprised at the timing, but that's cool. Niemi's a stud. Definitly part of the solution, not the problem here (hi heater, looking you dead in the eye).

Doug's not out of my dog house, but gotta give him props on this one, good move.

 

[rares]

You guys are nucking futs.

This is Niemi we're talking about, right?

He remains an unproven, average goalie despite his recent mostly-solid streak.

I fail to see how that is worth $4M/year.

This must mean that none of the goalies the Sharks drafted in recent years are any good (read: NHL material) and, given what else is out there and how much they'll demand next year, this was the best move to make.

But Niemi still sucks. I can't believe so many of you are thinking he's so great all of a sudden.