Dallas Stars Player Profiles: Antti Niemi
By Cole Mentzel
In the third part of a three part series, we look at Antti Niemi, one of the Dallas Stars newest acquistions.
During the 2015 NHL Draft, the Dallas Stars traded a seventh round pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for the rights to Antti Niemi. That did not necessarily mean the Stars had Niemi, as they still had to sign him, they just gained the rights to negotiate. A few days later, the Stars announced that they had signed Niemi to a three year contract worth $4.5 million per year.
He began his NHL career with the Blackhawks back in 2008-09. In 2010, he became a member of the Sharks and was there all the way up until signing with the Stars.
Characteristics:
- Height: 6’2
- Weight: 210
- Catches: Left
- Age: 31
Niemi has been known as “the guy” in San Jose for the past few seasons. His success stems from his ability to play small and stay low to the ground. He doesn’t exactly have a certain way that he stops the pucks, he just stops them, which makes it so hard to get the puck past him. His playing time with the Sharks helped elevate his career and established him as one of the more appreciated goalies in the NHL.
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2014 Regular Season:
- Games Played: 61
- Record: 31-23-7
- Saves: 1,811
- SV%: .914
During 2014-15, Niemi helped the Sharks earn a record of 40-33-9, which was good enough for 89 points. They missed the Playoffs by finishing 12th in the Western Conference. As you can tell, Niemi was the Sharks go-to goalie, since he got to play 61 games. He played four less games than Kari Lehtonen but had a higher save percentage and a lower GAA (2.59). Overall, he had a slightly down year compared to some of his other seasons but one that was very productive.
Playoff Statistics:
- Games Played: 62
- Record: 35-26
- Saves: 1,796
- SV%: .907
- GAA: 2.74
Niemi has been to the Playoffs on five separate occasions in the NHL. Four with the Sharks and one with the Blackhawks, in which he led them to the Stanley Cup. He doesn’t have a considerable amount of Playoff experience but it’s a lot more compared to Kari Lehtonen’s eight total games, plus Niemi knows what it takes to win the ultimate prize.
Career Accomplishments:
- Stanley Cup Champion: 2010
- Retired Number With Kiekko-Vantaa
- Career NHL Record: 190-100-40
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Niemi’s run to the Stanley Cup Final with the Blackhawks in 2010 jump-started the Chicago dynasty and although Niemi ultimately left that summer, he gained valuable experience and made a name for himself in just his second NHL season. His number is retired with Kiekko-Vantaa, a hockey team located in Finland where Niemi’s professional career began.
There has been lots of controversy around this signing since the Stars already have Kari Lehtonen. Many people believe he is good enough to lead the Stars on a postseason run. However, Jim Nill had other things in mind. The trade certainly was not risky and now the Stars have two legitimate starting goalies.
Nill, in an interview, said that he believed the NHL is currently a two-goalie league. He thinks that having two goalies who can both start will be an advantage because there won’ t be any nights when the team is lacking leadership from a backup goalie. Lehtonen and Niemi will essentially be co-goalies, without a clear starter, so that each and every night, the rest of the team has an experienced leader in between the pipes.
Nill on having both Niemi & Lehtonen: It's a two-goalie league, the Stars have cap room & team needed to get better at goalie position.
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) June 27, 2015
It will certainly be interesting to see which goalie gets the start on bigger nights and which goalie gets the start on the second night of a back-to-back but one thing is certain: the Stars solved their goalie issue. Both can lead and, most importantly, both can play. Bringing Niemi to the Stars was another brilliant move by Jim Nill and his style should work perfectly in the Stars system.