When the arbitration ruling came back in Antti Niemi’s favor, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Chicago Blackhawks were going to be forced to part ways with the Finnish netminder.
The Blackhawks are thought to have presented a case for Niemi making about $1.75 million, with Niemi’s agent countering with a demand for nearly $4 million.
In the end, the arbitrator awarded Niemi a one-year deal worth $2.75 million, which effectively priced Niemi out of Chicago’s plans for the 2010-11 season.
Through 39 regular season games with Chicago, Niemi assembled a 26-7-4 record while posting a 2.25 goals against average and a .912 save percentage.
Niemi followed up a decent regular season by backstopping the Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. During the playoffs, Niemi compiled a 16-6 record with a 2.63 GAA and a .910 save percentage.
While Niemi’s overall numbers look impressive, there are still many NHL fans who believe him to be overrated, especially in light of his penchant for giving up bad goals and his questionable play during the Cup Finals.
The B ...
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Article written by Mark Ritter
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August 2nd, 2010 by Mark Ritter Leave a reply »
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