Niemi Watch
Al Cimaglia | Jul 27, 2010 | Comments 41
Will Antti Niemi be back in Chicago for the 2010-2011 season?
If you were thinking about buying a Niemi jersey to wear while watching him battle for the Blackhawks at the United Center….I would hold off on making the purchase.
As has been stated here on a few occasions Niemi is playing with a shorter stake than Stan Bowman. The young goalie is not in control of his destiny. In many ways Niemi has a more uncertain future than most Cup winning goal keepers.
Life is not always fair.
Lucrative contract options could be a real possibility if Niemi’s agent Bill Zito can figure out a way to get his client away from the Blackhawks. As negotiations have creped along Niemi may feel like he is under appreciated and could have his sites set elsewhere.
What does Niemi really want?
Does Niemi prefer to stay in Chicago or would he rather find a job where he will earn the most money? It appears Niemi can not have it both ways, and as time passes his situation becomes more tenuous.
Niemi has won a Stanley Cup, maybe now his mission is more about financial security. He certainly can’t be faulted for wanting to ring the register and provide a comfortable life for his family. Maybe Niemi’s boyhood dreams did not target a long lasting career in the NHL. Unfortunately he isn’t in a position to insure a big payday, or at least not yet.
Judging by the way money is being thrown around in the KHL Niemi probably could sign a fat contract there for nearly double what a NHL team would offer. If a tax exempt payday in Russia doesn’t work there is always the Swedish Elite League.
Whispers which seem to have some merit.
Although the Marty Turco to the Blackhawks story has gained some momentum and deserves attention, recently there has been some movement in Niemi’s negotiation. Word from someone who has spoken to Niemi indicated playing in the KHL wouldn’t be his first option. But knowing what options are available may take time to evolve.
The scuttlebutt in the Turco scenario signals he will sign in Chicago at a deep discount. Turco ends up on different team than the group which won the Cup but the Hawks could still make a lot of noise in the playoffs. If Turco plays well he has a chance to be a sought after unrestricted free agent next summer.
Turco is at a much different point in is career than Niemi. Money isn’t as important as proving he can still be a NHL starting goal keeper. Evidently, if the rumors are true, Turco feels Chicago gives him the best opportunity to show he still has some gas left in his tank.
The biggest Niemi re-signing hitch could be his preference on having more than a one year deal while in Chicago. He wants more security than a one year arrangement offers as he seeks to establish himself as the starter for the upcoming season.
Even after winning the Cup it seems Niemi has some apprehensiveness about his status with the Hawks. The Niemi camp feels there will be some one year options available with other NHL clubs if the Hawks aren’t in the picture. Once again exploring those options can’t fully happen yet.
The conclusion to a sticky situation should be surfacing soon.….
Some of what has been tossed around the rumor mill could be posturing from both sides.
What appears likely is Niemi will have to soften his demands and the Hawks will have to decide if they want to sign him to a multi-year deal.
Before the San Jose offer sheet to Hjalmarsson a two year $5 million dollar contract would have been a distinct possibility. One has to believe Niemi would sign such a deal today. The issue now is the Hawks would have to make another trade to have enough cap space to make that offer. The Marty Reasoner cap clearing move was only enough for a Bryan Bickell re-signing.
Except For Cristobal Huet and Brian Campbell there aren’t any larger contracts for Bowman to trade. There is a better chance of no snow in Chicago during January than Huet being traded. His contract falls into the ‘have to eat’ category.
Dealing Campbell wouldn’t be easy and it would cause a big change in the style of play for the Blackhawks. As much as some fans and media are quick to say Campbell is overpaid, he does serve a purpose. There might be a very small market for Campbell’s services, although Bowman wouldn’t want to give him away.
Realistically there is no easy way out of this mess unless Niemi signs on the dotted line for well below $2 million per year. That might be almost as unlikely as an arbitration award above $4 million per season.
The other outcome is easy enough too, as the Hawks could just walk away from the arbitrator’s decision.
Possibly if the award is well below $3 million and the Hawks still decide to pass, Niemi could be traded for a draft pick or prospect. That is if there is enough cap space available to sign and then trade him.
The clock is running, the convention is coming and the Hawks still might have a new starting goal keeper come October.
blackhawkswin@comcast.net
Filed Under: Chicago Blackhawks • Featured • Featured Rumors • NHL
Al, a very objective view…thanks.
Chicago, like Pittsburgh, Detroit and Anaheim before them, are dealing with the Reality of the Cap World for Cup Champions.
Every one of those teams is different today than when they hoisted Stanley’s mug.
With the salary ceiling it appears next to impossible to keep a Cup winner intact.
As Stan Bowman has said, “Guys want raises” after winning a Championship, and that’s just business…hockey or otherwise.
The so-called “hometown discount” appears to be a fiction invented by hockey writers.
Whether Niemi stays or goes, the Hawks have a strong core.
And seeing as other teams in the West haven’t improved their personnel significantly so far in the off season, the Blackhawks may be contenders again next year.
The young guys will be hungry to prove themselves…as would a Marty Turco (or Jose Theodore for that matter).
Is Niemi committed to the Indian? Answers coming up…
The “hometown discount” hardly ever seems to apply to young guys. It seems to affect only people who have made their money and have other goals (consistency for family etc).
And, dang it, my wife just bought me a Niemi shirt two weeks ago…
Thanks for update Al. I feel I must be missing something because from my POV the Hawks could fit Niemi in at 2.5 (in fact I would have thought if Niemi would sign a 2 year for 5M the Hawks would take that). Using capgeek the Hawks could make that work in a few different ways such as
1) a trade – Kopecky for example
2) a smaller roster – 21 or even 20
3) a cheaper back-up goalie than Crawford – Toivenen for example
4) someone young D other than Vishnevskiy makes the roster – Lalonde for example who has a cheaper salary and a performance bonus cushion that can be used
If Niemi leaves the Hawks when he could have stayed for 2.5 I’ll be shocked, unless there is something I’m missing.
LVC…
I thought they would be fine at $2.5..But I hear no.
It is bset not to waste the energy trying to get exact cap space….almost impossible.
Cap Geek is a great site but there are some things he isn’t privy to…
Below $2 mill appears what the Hawks are thinking.
I am going to stick to my $2.3 mill guess until proven otherwise…if he re-signs at all.
But Hawks could have another agenda …like Turco for much less than Niemi would be happy to accept.
with the Turco scenario I would guess they’d be grooming Crawford to be the #1 in a year’s time
Maybe Crawford will make us forget about Niemi
BUT I watched the Champoinship DVD and was reminded that Niemi is a winner whatever the stats. Not every goalie is – that’s not so easy to replace.
Of course I’m still hopeful he stays – if not the Hawks will be fine one way or the other
I’m sticking to earlier posts. I think he signs a one year deal based on what the ‘hawks can afford. Somewhere around 1.8 -2m. It’s evident that there is a glut of FA goaltenders this year and it gives Niemi another year to pad his stats and his paycheck as he becomes a free agent next season.
That’s exactly what Stan Bowman is saying…lol
And so he should be…
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Al, I Don’t see how they cannot resign Antti for 2.5
CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR
FORWARDS
Troy Brouwer ($1.025m) / Jonathan Toews ($6.300m) / Patrick Kane ($6.300m)
Viktor Stalberg ($0.850m) / Patrick Sharp ($3.900m) / Marian Hossa ($5.275m)
Igor Makarov ($0.552m) / Dave Bolland ($3.375m) / Jack Skille ($0.600m)
Bryan Bickell ($0.541m) / Jake Dowell ($0.525m) / Tomas Kopecky ($1.200m)
DEFENSEMEN
Brian Campbell ($7.142m) / Duncan Keith ($5.538m)
Brent Seabrook ($3.500m) / Niklas Hjalmarsson ($3.500m)
John Scott ($0.512m) / Shawn Lalonde ($0.773m)
GOALTENDERS
Antti Niemi ($2.500m) /Hannu Toivonen ($0.550m)
CARRY-OVER BONUS PENALTY: $4,157,753
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled using the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $58,619,090; BONUSES: $285,000
CAP SPACE (20-man roster): $1,065,910
20 man roster W/ Toivonen…..if Crawford was the back-up we’d still have $815k+ for a vet defenseman or another rookie with bonii.Thus leaving just a bit of wiggle room for any(god forbid) injuries. Since the cap is calculated DAILY, 100k or so would do for now.
I think Niemi’s camp is looking higher than $3M…..that is the problem If he signed a 2 yr $5M contract I think Stan would do it in a heartbeat. There are ways to shave a few bucks from the above roster(see the Jack Skille treatment from last yr.) He is signable @2.5-2.75, any more than that it becomes complicated, IMO.
All we can do is hope they settle before Arbitration or we get a favorable ruling…….
@Mark> all good points…but as Al says, it starts to be a question of slicing and dicing until there’s almost no margin for error.
Signing a starter at $2MM, maybe $2.25, is possibly Bowman’s budget ceiling.
It kinda HAS to be done…..there is no real way to disect this team anymore…..Kopecky or Brouwer and they don’t net you squat. Taking Sharp or Bolland out of the mix is stupid, then we have an inferior team moreso on the whole.
IMO the only thing to do is pay Niemi, and take a chance. With the cap being calculated Daily the “Rockford shuffle” should be in full swing. That way we minimize our cap probs and Keep Niemi. Injuries will be easier to deal with this yr anyway. With a non-olympic schedule we’ll have more days off. Any serious injury will have to be put on LTIE.
Going after a Theodore or Turco to replace Niemi is not the way to go
Interesting comment by Zito in the Chicago Tribune today:
“This is atypical. It’s just about the cap; it’s cap management. No one ever said, ‘Antti doesn’t deserve this or he’s not good enough’ or anything like that.”
Sounding like a compromise could yet be had before the 29th hearing.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed! If they can get him for 1 year and he plays well the Hawks will be able to give him his $ next year (or someone else will for sure)
As others have pointed out for 11-12 they’ll have the 4.1M back from the bonuses plus probably a higher cap limit (by 1-2 M) and Kopecky is UFA. That’s 6-7 M depending on the cap limit to spend on re-signing Seabrook (extra 1.5), Brouwer (extra 1.5) and Niemi (extra 1.5). That’s only 4.5 with 2 – 2.5 M or so left to re-sign some combination of Stalberg, Kopecky, Skille and Dowell. I would think Stalberg would be re-signed but the other 3 will be on the bubble based on the 10-11 season.
It’s all do-able if we can just keep Uncle Antti for this year.
Don’t count on the bonus number to be only $4.1 mill for the past year….And don’t rule out some bonuses earned for the upcoming season.
Performance bonuses are only for certain contracts like Entry Level and certain over 35 yr. old players. The Hawks won’t have much performance bonus to deal with next year – only Stalberg and maybe Lalonde. Even if they were to max out it would still be less than 3K.
Just reading up a bit in the CBA and found some interesting tidbits
1) It seems that the arbitrator can award whatever $ figure they want (this is supported in Kuc’s Trib article today). This is a good thing I think – it may force the 2 sides to compromise ahead of time OR perhaps the arbitrator will decide on a number greater than the Hawks and less than Niemi’s that the Hawks can still live with.
2) the two sides have to exchange briefs 48 hrs. prior to the hearing meaning I assume that each side is now privy to what the other is going to ask for. This is one reason I suppose that often the 2 sides compromise before the hearing since they each know the final position of the other.
LVC,
You are correct but there are things we don’t know…Ledy could make the team…etc..
Also and more important no one knows for sure the exact bonus hit from this season that has to be taken next year. I think it is a sure bet it is at least the reported amount.
I wrote in the past..this isn’t an either or…the arbitrator conpares both arguments only, and then picks an award amount.
AL, AL,AL….it has been widely reported that the Bonii overage is : $4,157,753…..that’s it, not more OR less.
As for Leddy….if the cap hit is too much for the roster ANY player will be Rockford bound, see: Skille, Jack and others.
As for the bonus cushion for next yr, we canot know until the roster is set and see who makes the team…..It may be nothing but it may be 200-400k, or more if We sign a vet goalie(It would have to include Bonii to make it work(see Turco) , he rejected Philly’s $2M offer, but he might do it here for that, but it is unlikely)
Mark..believe what u want but going back to before Kane..Toews Keith re-signed no one has had an accurate read on the Hawks cap.
And Bowman said $4.1 was in the neighborhood…if it was less he probably would have said so…if it is more there is no way he would say.
I said before the big three were re-signed they would be…most said it couldn’t happen.
I won’t waste any energy on figuring exact cap space because the person who knows for sure won’t say….in Niemi’s case it may not matter and I will have more later.
If Turco does come it will be for less than $2….They won’t pay him more than that is what I have heard.
As for Leddy his contract maybe another controversy…concerning lack of bonus…more later.
sorry that maxed out bonus number should read less than 300K
Good blog… Obviously, Niemi has declined the 2mil or less offers that the hawks have offered.
I beleive the arbitator will go $3.75 million or more. So I hope the hawks can get one of the available veterans to sign for 1.5 or less…It’s going to get interesting.
~The Ig
At this point from what I hear $2.75 won’t work here let alone over $3.
A lot of players or GMs have blinked outside the hearing room, and this could very well happen tomorrow.
The fact is that the Hawks’ system is suck that they don’t need a Ryan Miller in net to succeed. Even with the players they had to trade away, they only lost Brent Sopel off the blueline. Right here is where the Hawks’ bread is buttered.
I’m still of the opinion Niemi signs a one-year for $1.5-2 million, and looks to rake in as a UFA in a year.
Why would Niemi wait until next year when he can become a UFA and rake it in this year?
It seems probably that arbitration will net him more than $2mil, so there’s no need for him to sign a cut-rate offer.
If arbitration puts him out of the reach of the ‘Hawks cap space, then he can probably get $3m in the open market.
If arbitration somehow comes in under $2m, no harm nor foul for Niemi.
There’s simply no real reason for Niemi to sign before arbitration, especially at a cut rate position.
I don’t think he will be awarded more than Rinne’s $3.4…and if arbitration amount comes in lower.. another team will probably start negotiations lower than the amount the Hawks passed on….
He will have a tough making much over $3 mill anywhere in this mkt.
Also if the Hawks were to offer low 2’s he may sign here for 1 yr. ..at least he will be on a playoff contender and then get a bigger deal next summer.
Niemi doesn’t have any leverage at this point.
They can’t sign and trade Niemi coming out of arbitration – the CBA forbids it.
If they sign him out of arbitration, they must keep him for the season
Where is that in the CBA?
It likes from section 10.3 (b) Hjammer can’t be traded since the Hawks used their right of first refusal, but I couldnt find a similar line item for arbitration.
I believe…
If Niemi were to get traded the acquiring team would have to keep him for at least one season.
I can’t say for sure that there’s no clause. But I did read Article 12 (Salary Arbitration) and search and read all references to trade and arbitration and didn’t see any restrictions. But, the CBA being written how it is, that certainly doesn’t prove such a clause isn’t there somewhere.
Unless things have changed, Kyle Calder was a sign and trade was he not?
yes he was trade within 3 days…the acquiring team has to hold onto the player for at least a year.
Al, Re: Turco, if he is signed I definitely expect a bonus laden deal
Leddy…..that one is a real head scratcher with the utter lack of bonus $$. Considering the great work he has done in signing so many guys to “cap friendly” deals.
To me that says he’s playing in the A this season, there is really no way he can be afforded on this seasons cap.
Turco can’t get a bonus laden deal…
A lack of bonus $$ for Leddy (if accurate) makes it easier, not harder, for Leddy to play in the NHL this year.
Oh, I correct myself, the date for ages for 35+ contracts is June 30th (I had thought it was Sept 1st for some reason). So I guess Turco could sign a bonus deal if he wants a 1 year deal.
I wouldnt expect Turco to take such a deal though.
No, you are WRONG, we have only X available cap, bonus money goes toward the “bonus cushion” and not counted against the cap # so more bonus = less actual cap hit (to start). If he gets those bonii, depending on the amount we spent on the cap altogether, it might come off next yr’s cap, but his bonii are negligible compared to the Kane and Toews bonii from this past yr.
Turco is over 35….so he IS eligable for a bonii laden deal….only Entry level and 35+ contracts are…..
Well it does seem curious although as you say in the A no cap consequence.
It’s all in the details which will come out later….but I have heard some rumblings which I can’t comment on yet..
Don’t know for sure if Leddy deal had any bonuses included??
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As long as you credit where they are from …no problem.
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