Confirmed with Link: Habs sign Antti Niemi to one-year, one-way contract

[AntiCHrice]

Canadien: contrat d'un an pour Antti Niemi | Jean-François Tremblay | Hockey

 

[sheed36]

I have no issues with this signing. Niemi earned this contract with his play last season and it's good to have a veteran goalie around in case of a Price injury. If he can play again like he did last season this is a very good deal for the Habs. If his play slips to the Niemi before the Habs claimed him off waivers just cut your losses and move on.

Also Lindgren can still be sent down and will be paid NHL money even if he's in the AHL plus he'll have a new coaching staff to learn from and will likely play the majority of the games so that isn't a bad thing.

 

[Et le But]

He earned it, will probably come back to earth but him and Lindgren competing should be good for everyone.

 

[Scintillating10]

He is good goalie. Sounds like Lindgren maybe included in a trade?

 

[montreal]

Would be a bit surprised if they trade Lindgren unless they get a goalie back as I assume Fucale is done so that leaves McNiven and no way is he ready with such limited AHL time (1400 minutes which is less then 24 games).

Price
Niemi

Lindgren
McNiven

now we need a goalie for the ECHL unless they re-sign Fucale and put McNiven back in the ECHL.

 

[habsgirl5000]

This signing is quite beneficial in several ways. Either this pushes Lindgren to be better

hopefully it pushes Price to be better

 

[Runner77]

hopefully it pushes Price to be better

How did I know you'd chime in and make this about Price.

 

[Miller Time]

Another regrettable move by Bergevin.

why do you say that?

No fan of MB's management, but this signing strikes me as a no-brainer... 850-900k would have been better than 950, but that's splitting hairs.

Allows Lingren to either be traded this summer (if someone values him at a 2nd rd pick/NHL ready prospect or better) or safely kept in AHL to play starter minutes...

If Niemi does a similar type job in back-up duty to Price, could be a decent trade chip come deadline. If Price goes down yet again, Niemi is a good bet to lead the tank.

Win-win-win as I see it.

 

[stanley25]

hopefully it pushes Price to be better

Gota give it to you... You're Price hate is extremely stronb and unwavering. Felt the same way about Latendress for a while haha

 

[Maitz]

Maybe they want Niemi to teach Carey how to win a Stanley Cup

 

[habsgirl5000]

Maybe they want Niemi to teach Carey how to win a Stanley Cup

Lol....good one!!

 

[Habs Icing]

He will suck super hard this year.good tank move.

What do you wanna bet that he won't?

This is a great move. Lindgren is not ready for the NHL. I don't know if he'll ever be ready. There is some question about Price's ability and health - both physical and mental. I would play Niemi around 30-35 games. He'll probably end up being the best back up in the league. That'll keep Price fresh for the playoffs and if The Saviour craps the bed at least we have a decent goalie.

I really don't think Niemi will go anywhere.

 

[WinterLion]

Great news! We have our starter!!

 

[get25]

Will bring us another 2nd round at 2019 TDL

 

[WinterLion]

Maybe they want Niemi to teach Carey how to win a Stanley Cup

Or just take his job from him.

 

[PriceIsGod]

I mean its one of those moves where its like might as well.. Worse case, he sucks and Charlie replaces him. Best case, he plays similarly to last season and we get a free pick near the TDL? No harm.

 

[Vachon23]

Makes Lindgren decent trade bait. Could be a nice addition to a Pacioretty in a Center deal.

Lindgren has no trade value ..

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Lindgren has no trade value ..

He definitely has some trade value.

 

[Vachon23]

He definitely has some trade value.

like a 5th pick ..

 

[Habs Icing]

like a 5th pick ..

Isn't that what the Pens got for Condon? Or was it a 3rd?

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

like a 5th pick ..

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If a team like Carolina likes him and thinks he could potentially start next year (albeit with veteran competition) he could be added to a Pacioretty and would help sweeten the return.

 

[Tuggy]

Meh, Lindgren hasn't proven anything and they need a capable backup.

If Lindgren shows something in camp or early in the season then great, but if not Niemi is serviceable.

 

[FerrisRox]

Isn't that what the Pens got for Condon? Or was it a 3rd?

Condon was dealt for a fifth round pick that became Jan Drozdg

 

[Habs Halifax]

Makes Lindgren decent trade bait. Could be a nice addition to a Pacioretty in a Center deal.

Exactly what I was thinking for a while now. Patch and Lindgren are a good package for teams looking for a complete forward who can score and a young promising goalie who put up solid stats on a team last year that was terrible on D.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Doubt it. Just insurance policy. Bergevin does not want another Price-Condon situation.
Lindgren isn't a proven prospect yet that can be counted if Price goes down for a significant amount of time. Given the terrible season we just had, and the other one 2 years prior, Bergevin doesn't want to repeat that same mistake.

I think the other thing is Bergevin is planing on having a more competitive team at the AHL level too. Does Lindgren have to clear waivers next year?

However, If we are able to package him up with Patch, I would pull the trigger. Lindgren had two shutouts in 14 games last year and he showed promise on a team that was terrible on defense. Lindgren has value but alone by himself it's limited cause we need a larger sample size at the NHL level.