The Sharks appear to be making a splash in free agency by getting another goalie under contract. Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reports that the deal is done and Antti Niemi is set to sign as early as tomorrow. He reports that it appears to be a $2.0MM base deal over the course of one year.
West coast source has confirmed Antti Niemi will sign with the Sharks as early as tomorrow. I hear 2M base, possibly for just the 1 year.
The signing comes as a surprise to many fans and analysts alike, the thought of Niemi coming to the Sharks with their limited cap room was one pretty far off, especially once the team brought in Antero Niittymaki. They seemed to be focusing more on the defense and have yet to make serious strides to illustrate that, save for signing Niklas Hjalmarsson.
Still, the fact that it was unexpected (for the most part, but definitely not out of the question to most) doesn't mean it's bad. It's generally a good signing for the Sharks, but again, it's not something that was a hugely pressing matter and it's left many scratching their heads. They're left with very little room to make any other signings this offseason, however.
Fear The Fin has some general speculation about this signing:
Pure speculation here, but could this be a situation where upper management wanted to go in another direction by signing a Stanley Cup winning goaltender, something that Jamison and Wilson were opposed to? The fact that Niemi's signing contradicts Wilson, Pollak, and Pollak's sources raises some questions about why Jamison was stepping down. Announcing a Presidency change at this point in the offseason seems strange to me
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