Niemi and Blackhawks almost certainly entering arbitration
Although he was an important piece of the puzzle in the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup-winning season, Antti Niemi’s future in Chicago still remains uncertain as his arbitration date looms closer and closer.
Since Niemi and the Blackhawks have not managed to agree to terms for any sort of contract this off-season, it is almost certain that both sides will be meeting in front of an arbitrator in Toronto. The arbitrator will award Niemi a contract sum that Chicago can in turn choose to accept or reject. If the team rejects the arbitrator’s decision, Niemi becomes a free agent.
Both sides have already submitted their respective briefs on the issue to the arbitrator as of Tuesday in accordance with the National Hockey League’s collective bargaining agreement. The only way arbitration could be avoided would be a surprise contract agreement between both parties, though given the stagnant state of negotiation between Niemi and the Blackhawks it seems very unlikely.
To be fair to Chicago, the lack of contract is not based on any sort of mistreatment of Niemi. The Stanley Cup-winners are simply struggling to meet the upcoming season’s salary cap, which the NHL established to be $59.4 million. Research by capgeek.com indicates that the Blackhawks are currently $403,256 over the cap as is.
Niemi is aware of this as his agent Bill Zito noted: “Most arbitrations are a disagreement in a player's worth. In this case, it's about managing the cap.”
This is problematic as Niemi will with all certainty be awarded a higher salary than the $800,000 the Blackhawks paid the 26-year-old Finnish goalie last season. This means that Chicago would be forced into a bind regarding what to do with Niemi.
They could make cap space for Niemi by dumping some players or trading for cheaper contracts. However, that seems unlikely as the Blackhawks focused on resigning players heavily this off-season and do not really have too many disposable players in their roster.
The Blackhawks could also try to get something out of Niemi even if they can’t keep him via sign-and-trade. The Blackhawks could then attempt to sign veteran goaltenders like Marty Turco or Jose Theodore for a smaller value than the one awarded to Niemi. The two keepers are still on the unrestricted free agent market, most likely in part to teams needing goalies waiting to see what Chicago decides to do with Niemi.
Chicago could also choose to simply rely in-house to fill the void between the pipes that would be left by Niemi’s departure. They still have Cristobal Huet on the roster and the 34-year-old French goaltender could still deliver strong defence if given the chance. They could back Huet up with prospect Corey Crawford. Crawford has currently played in a handful of NHL games but has shown some promise during four seasons with the Blackhawk’s American Hockey League affiliate Rockford IceHogs.
Although prior to last year Niemi played in just three NHL games, his performance throughout 2009-10 is a strong case for a significant wage increase. Niemi helped the Blackhawks win their first Stanley Cup in 40 years and went 16-6 with a .910 save percentage and 2.63 goals-against average during the 2010 play-offs. His regular season was no less impressive, as he went 26-7-4 with a .912 save percentage and 2.25 GAA in 39 appearances.
Given their focus on re-signing other roster players before Niemi, it seems that the Blackhawks will not be retaining their net-minder for the upcoming season. Chicago operates with a philosophy that goaltenders are relatively disposable when surrounded by a strong cast. Next season will be the true test of this philosophy as it’ll be possible to see how well Niemi holds his own outside of the Chicago system and how well Chicago can perform with a very similar roster but different keeper.
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