The Niemi Watch: Where Should He End up?

Of all the rumors surrounding newly unattached goalie Antti Niemi, the one making a case for him not starting next season on a National Hockey League roster is by far the most intriguing.

How many Stanley Cup-winning goalies do you know of that were left without a contract two months removed from their championship victory? Domink Hasek in 2008 notwithstanding, I would wager not a one. If you think about it, Hasek shouldn’t even really count. Forget the fact that he was “retiring” and that Chris Osgood had long since taken the reins of the Detroit Red Wings’ run that post-season. Hasek was always considered a little bit, shall we say different? And Niemi is no Hasek.

For starters, he’s only 27 and entering the prime of his career. Another hard-to-deny fact? His 2.25 goals against average through 39 games this past regular season to place fourth in the NHL. Sure, around March he began to allow three or more goals more often than Toronto Maple Leafs fans celebrated a potential Stanley Cup following each two-game winning streak last season (six times), but one must also remember that never before did Niemi play 61 games in one year. When all is said and done, he did win hockey’s holy grail, and for that teams are beginning to doubt his ability?

While Niemi may have rebound-control issues, even the best goalies suffer from some deficiencies. Just look at Vancouver Canucks’ Roberto Luongo in his last two season-ending losses to the Chicago Blackhawks in which he allowed five and seven goals. Show me a Canucks fans who wouldn’t rather have Niemi as their starting goalie and I’ll show you a time-travelling Dolorian to send them back to the past in which they no doubt live.

Niemi would also give much needed support to the Edmonton Oilers given that The Bulin Wall could be staring at some prison walls in the not-too-distant future if his DUI court case doesn’t go as planned. Goalies Devan Dubnyk and Jeff Deslauriers make decent back-ups, but not starters. I’d rather have glorified-pylon-of-a-defenseman Sheldon Souray in nets, because at least his salary-cap hit would be taken off the books when he inevitably goes on long-term injured reserve.
Even the Dallas Stars ought to be in line for Niemi’s services. They’ve got Kari “Lets It In” Lehtonen manning the crease and recent draftee Jack Campbell at least three years away from a full-time NHL job.

Many teams in the NHL need a bona-fide starter, but perhaps no team more so than the New York Islanders and their sorry excuse for a starter Rick “Five Games a Year if That” DiPietro. While DP is no doubt a competent netminder when healthy, there’s certainly no guarantee anywhere in the two of four seasons (only one of them good) he’s played since signing his 15-year contract in 2006.

Islanders owner Charles Wang and general manager Garth Snow have the cap space to sign Niemi and only Dwayne Roloson and a somewhat healthy DiPietro are standing in the way. Maybe they could trade Roloson back to the Oilers to create a vacancy, that is if DiPietro doesn’t come down with a sudden case of Dipietroitis, a disease, which I’m told strikes the most injury-prone among us.

No one is expecting the Islanders to make any noise next season. They lack the basic level of talent needed in a variety positions, goaltending included, to be taken seriously.

Nabbing Niemi would be a major coup for New York and propel the team into playoff contention, where anything can happen. An unproven Niemi helped lead Chicago to the finals last year. Now that he’s suddenly proven no one wants him? I’m not buying it. Look for Niemi to find a home by this time next month, because the alternative really does constitute a nonsensical rumor.