He’s the top option among free agents, and is the veteran name tossed around the most in Edmonton. His name is Antti Niemi, and he’ll be hitting the free agent market on July 1st, part of a weak goaltending class in free agency. That said, if Edmonton wants to snag a veteran netminder this summer, this likely represents the best chance.
Niemi has a Stanley Cup ring from the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks, and has led the Sharks to the playoffs every year but one since joining, and that was this past season. He’s not elite, but he’s a serviceable NHL starter.
Why Is He Out There:
The Sharks have found themselves in a pretty odd and new spot, staring a rebuild in the eyes. San Jose is going to be getting younger, and likely won’t be competing for Cups for another few seasons. As a result, the veteran netminder of 31 found himself on the outs as the season wore on.
The Sharks appear committed to their younger goalies, namely Alex Stalock, and are willing to allow Niemi to walk this summer. While getting younger is part of it, Niemi also wasn’t his best this past season.
What Does He Do Well:
Antti Niemi is your typical average NHL goalie. He’s not going to give you Tuukka Rask level performances, but he’s going to give you a chance to win almost every night. For Edmonton, that is a massive upgrade over the goaltending it got this past season from Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth.
This year, Niemi posted a .914 SV% in 61 games, while last year he had a mark of .913 in 64 games. In 2012-13, he posted a .924 mark in 43 games, and prior to that he had a .914 mark in 68 tilts. If you’re following along, you’ll notice a pattern.
Going back to that 2011-12 season, Antti Niemi has been consistently in the .913/.914 range for SV%. It’s not an elite mark, it’s not great, but it’s also not terrible and it won’t be the biggest reason your hockey club misses the playoffs. As I’ve said, he’s an average netminder.
On top of that, Niemi is consistently a 65+ game starter for whatever team he is on. He’s a guy that is a workhorse and will handle most of the games, which is very valuable. The lone year in that stretch he didn’t reach 60 games was in 2012-13, which was the 48 game lockout season.
We have Antti Niemi surrounded pretty well as a player, he’ll post average save percentages and start well over 50% of the games for your team. He won’t be the reason you lose, but won’t carry you either.
Where Will He Play / Where Should He Play:
Antti Niemi is a starting goalie in the NHL, that’s his role and it should be where he plays. In Edmonton, he would be the starter, clearly representing the best option in the organization at that spot. Considering the need of the club, Niemi is a good fit and a guy right in the range.
What Will He Cost:
Unlike the previous options we looked at, Niemi won’t cost anything more than money. The pending free agent is likely looking for a two or three year pact, and will probably command somewhere around $3.5-$4 million per season. It’ll be a short-term deal, but will cost a decent chunk of change. If multiple teams get involved here, the price could get even higher.
Closing Argument:
Edmonton could very well decide to not spend assets on a goalie and instead secure a few defenders via trade this summer. That would mean finding the next goalie via free agency where, as we’ve talked about, the options are pretty slim. That said, if this is the road Edmonton settles on, Antti Niemi is the guy.
He can handle a large workload, and posts average save percentages. League average goaltending would have resulted in a much better season for the Oilers, I truly believe that. Like I’ve said, Antti Niemi is not an elite goalie, but you could do much worse than him. He’s a workhorse and posts pretty solid and consistent numbers.
If the contract isn’t out of hand, I could easily get on board with this signing. I also think this represents the most likely solution in net, if I had to place a bet.
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