Niemi's name brings smiles to Hawks
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Antti Niemi will be remembered in Chicago as the man between the pipes who helped the Blackhawks secure their first Stanley Cup title in nearly 50 years.
And rightly so.
But after being allowed to walk as a free agent over the summer to sign a $2 million contract with the San Jose Sharks, all that are left now are the memories.
But what memories they are.
Just the mention of Niemi's name brought instant smiles to some of his former teammates on the eve of the Hawks' showdown against the Sharks.
“I remember one time I was hanging out with him and I couldn't get him to shut up,” Dave Bolland said. “Normally you never hear him. He just says his two words once in awhile and does his job.
“We were just out having a few beers and he was funny.
He was awesome. He was a good guy to be around.”
Added Patrick Sharp: “He was a quiet guy, but he always chimed in at the right time. He cracked everybody up quite a bit before games with little one-liners.”
But Niemi also impressed teammates with his work ethic.
“He's one of the best goalies I've ever shot on in practice because he tries so hard on every shot,” Patrick Kane said. “He'd come up to you a half an hour after practice and talk to you about a shot you took 15 minutes into practice.
“He's an unbelievable goaltender. He did a lot of great things for us last year. It's kind of tough the way he left, but I thought overall he did the job last year. It'll be good to play against him.”
Ah, therein lies the rub.
After practice Tuesday, Sharks coach Todd McLellan refused to name his starting goalie for Wednesday night's game, meaning the much anticipated Hawks vs. Niemi showdown may or may not occur.
And the reason for that is Niemi's shaky play early on this season. He's 2-4-1 with a 3.91 goals-against average and an .878 save percentage. Those numbers have cost Niemi the No 1 job in favor of Antero Niittymaki.
“It's a tough league,” Bolland said of Niemi's struggles. “Anything can happen in any season. If we do see him it will be fun to go against him, but at the same time we'll go hard at him.”
The Hawks know the Sharks will be going hard at them as they seek some revenge for getting swept last spring in the Western Conference Finals.
“The playoff series last year, a lot of people think that it was one-sided because it was 4-0, but to me it was the toughest series that we had,” Sharp said. “It was fast-paced and physical.”
Expect more of the same Wednesday night.
“It's going to be a pretty tough game,” Kane said. “I know San Jose is going to want to come out and beat us after what happened last year in the playoffs. I know they're going to have a lot of motivation to come in and beat us in their own rink.”