The Hawks had a plan and they to chose to replace him for a lot less…that wasn a huge raise…

I say only… but here it is different now…get Bickell for 1.7 mill less…

So when Stan said “guys want raises”, he wasn’t kidding.

If Antti is focused solely on the money, he may not be wearing the Indian Head next year.

It’s a long weekend here in Canada and I don’t want to think about this.

At least they are doing it first thing in the morning, so there is no waiting around today.

If Niemi is gone, I think I’d lean towards Turco, I used to lean towawrds Theodore but that point djd brings up is a great one. Turco is a master at playing the puck, something that Niemi was terrible at.. Imagine the Hawks transition game with Turco back there.. It might get even better

This also means they likely wouldn’t match even a low offer to Niemi. If that happens that would be a PR mess for SB – if fans see Niemi making a low-ish salary somewhere else and it’s thought that the Blackhawks could have/should have paid the equivalent to retain him.

I guess I’m suggesting this a reason SB might give in a little rather than go arbitration.

So SJ wouldn’t necessarily be able to get Niemi for less than 20% off the award amount without the Hawks having an option.

If that scenario was a possibility the Hawks would make sure they had the flexibility…is my guess.

Niemi would be a UFA only to point.

The rule states..

(c) If a Club exercises its walk-away right, the following
applies:

(i) If the player accepts an offer from a
New Club in respect of that year of the contract which the Prior
Club has walked-away from that is less than 80% of the award for
such year, the Prior Club may, within seven (7) days after the
date it receives the applicable Offer Sheet, elect to match the
offer of the New Club and the Player and the Prior Club shall
enter into a Player Contract on those terms and conditions;

Most likely a moot point because…

My thinking is if they are going to walk away the Hawks will sign another goalie for considerably less….that will be their choice as Niemi will move on and so will the Hawks.

If he signs ahead of time I am thinking $2.1-$2.3.

Zito will roll the dice for less because he figures they will at least be awarded Quick’s money.

If it deosn’t go to arbitration it won’t take $2.5 to settle it.

If Niemi’s award amount is less than $3 mill and the Hawks can somehow sign and trade they would do so…Niemi would end up in Philly, on the Island or maybe Edmonton..but they won’t trade to a conference foe if they could help it.

Don’t forget SJ is still lookig for a top pairing defender and they don’t have a lot of cap space.

Niemi wins $3m or so in arbitration and the Hawks walk away then sign Turco/Theodore

Wilson signs Niemi for 2.5 which the Hawks can’t match because it’s greater than 80% of 3M. Bowman absolutely cannot let that happen. OR worse still Neimi signs with SJ for 2.3 and Chi can’t match because they already signed Turco/Theodore.

SO.. I’ll stick with my prediction of a last second resolution avoiding arbitration at 2.3 – 2.5.

At 2.5 it’ll be a tough year financially but they’ll suck it up and get some breathing room the next year. Then we can sign Niemi long term which is what the Hawks should have in mind as the ultimate goal here.

Anyway, good blog Al, your consistency is why many of us look here first.

Antti avoids arbitration and signs a 1 yr at 1.8. I’m stickin’ to it.

Actually, as I mentioned to you, the Theodore item comes from La Presse in Montreal…in terms of its quality, probably the leading newspaper for hockey coverage in Canada right now. So there have probably been substantial discussions.

It appears Stan has a few options. Turco or Theodore in net are sound alternatives, and Theo was strong behind a porous Caps team last year.

Two vets who have lots to be hungry for.

It’s a tough situation for all parties involved, but there’s only so much money.

Bowman has done his best to get the books in order, after the free-spending of the Tallon days.

Sometimes changes like this can be good. It can give the team a new focus and motivation. We saw what the Coyotes and Avs did last year after the so-called experts predicted they would finish in the West basement.

Hawks fans have a Stanley Cup Championship team. Instead of worrying about what was lost in terms of personnel, and might go wrong, they might want to enjoy that fact, and look ahead to what the new faces can do.

That’s my perspective, anyway…and I am looking forward to what happens next year.