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

[Habaneros]

remember Montoya and Tokarski ?

I do...

I never had this dream , but tonight im afraid to close my eyes,..

Carey Price traded to team X
Habs sign UFA Cam Ward...

 

[wildD]

Good resigning of Niemi, this will give Lindgren more playing time in the AHL.

 

[montreal]

The other downside to Niemi up with the Habs and Lindgren as the AHL starter is that it means less playing time for NcNiven.

Depends on how it shakes out, but it wouldn't be terrible to bring McNiven along slowly as they really moved him in and out of the lineup at times so he would sit too much. His problem was giving up 1-2 quick ones later in the game. They could work with him to get his confidence going, bring him along slowly, maybe trade Niemi by the deadline if he's playing like he did last year.

This way if there's no lockout, the following season you have Price/Lindgren, McNiven/Hawkey unless Primeau has another great year then you got a tough call.

 

[Sorinth]

Depends on how it shakes out, but it wouldn't be terrible to bring McNiven along slowly as they really moved him in and out of the lineup at times so he would sit too much. His problem was giving up 1-2 quick ones later in the game. They could work with him to get his confidence going, bring him along slowly, maybe trade Niemi by the deadline if he's playing like he did last year.

This way if there's no lockout, the following season you have Price/Lindgren, McNiven/Hawkey unless Primeau has another great year then you got a tough call.

You definetly don't want to throw him into the deep end, but I'd much rather see him in a 1A/B situation. And if he's in that type of situation with Lindgren, well it negates the whole reason for Lindgren being in the AHL which would be to play a ton of games.

It just doesn't seem worth it to maybe get a 4th or 5th round pick out of trading Niemi.

 

[Adam Michaels]

The way I see it is:

1- Niemi earned an extension

2- It keeps Lindgren from entering camp with the belief the back-up position is his. He will now have to come into camp prepared.

3- While Niemi isn't a threat to Price, Carey will also need to play better because Niemi's performances last year gave Habs a better chance at winning than Price's.

4- It being a 1-Year deal makes sense as Lindgren has another season of being waiver exempt, so he can be sent to Laval without the risk of losing him.

 

[montreal]

You definetly don't want to throw him into the deep end, but I'd much rather see him in a 1A/B situation. And if he's in that type of situation with Lindgren, well it negates the whole reason for Lindgren being in the AHL which would be to play a ton of games.

It just doesn't seem worth it to maybe get a 4th or 5th round pick out of trading Niemi.

I don't think Lindgren needs to play a ton of games, but it could work out where he gets the bulk, gets his confidence going, Niemi gets moved, McNiven takes over as starter in Laval and then gets the bulk next year with Hawkey either backup or in the ECHL.

I don't see how it's not worth it, not for the pick, but for the depth, they can not go into the season with Price and his injury history, Lindgren and McNiven.

 

[NobleSix]

Is Weber really such an amazing downgrade over PK? Debatable, anyone with some sort of brain would say it's still in the air.

Quite the opposite really. It's pretty much an official fleecing.

An older, slower, declining, soon to be 33 year old defenseman who already has missed pretty much a whole season due to injury, is signed until the end of time, and has led the team to a 1st round playoff exit and an abysmal bottom 5 finish.

Or...

A younger, better offensively, better skating, better passing, better playmaking, more accurate shooting, consistent Norris ballot defenseman in his prime on a deal ending in a few years, who has helped his team to 4 playoff round victories in 2 years, including a SCF appearance.

Yeah... totally still up in the air man. I definetly, absolutely, cannot fathom how the endless number of no-brains around the world could possibly see otherwise.

Trading Sergachev? Drouin was an upcoming huge young talent.....

And Sergachev wasn't?

We traded a future top pairing defenseman for a PP specialist who doesn't even want to put in a serious effort half the time.

So much bias damn.... You should be ashamed of yourself!

Disgusting how you actually had the gaul to include that at the end of such a logically backwards post.

 

[the]

I like Niemi, he’s a good goalie. This is the best goalie tandem we had since Halak was here. A bit of competition can’t be bad for Pricer.

 

[montreal]

I like Niemi, he’s a good goalie. This is the best goalie tandem we had since Halak was here. A bit of competition can’t be bad for Pricer.

Is he a good goalie? In 19 games with us he did have a career high .929 save %, which is great but the last time he was close to that was in '12-'13 with the Sharks. His numbers have declined every year since, until he played for us which begs the question what happen and can he repeat it?

 

[jaffy27]

Is he a good goalie? In 19 games with us he did have a career high .929 save %, which is great but the last time he was close to that was in '12-'13 with the Sharks. His numbers have declined every year since, until he played for us which begs the question what happen and can he repeat it?

I believe he can....not expecting miracles but I think he’ll do fine, maybe thetch is a 3rd round pick later this year....who knows.

 

[Runner77]

How’s long is the era?.....anyways, this is the Niemi thread, let’s stick with that. It was a good signing, nothing more, nothing less

I think Niemi is the kind of low hanging fruit housekeeping move you get done in the off season. You create depth, you allow your young starting goalie in the AHL more playing time and you have yourself someone you can try to flip at the TDL if Lindgren is due for a promotion. Only a one-year deal, low AAV. Low risk. Nothing more to see here.

 

[jaffy27]

I think Niemi is the kind of low hanging fruit housekeeping move you get done in the off season. You create depth, you allow your young starting goalie in the AHL more playing time and you have yourself someone you can try to flip at the TDL if Lindgren is due for a promotion. Nothing more to see here.

Exactly.....it’s a nice signing that can pay good d’évidents. If it works out....good, we can trade him later, if not, bury his contract in the minors and bring up Lindgren. It’s a win win.....but Bergy ain’t off the hook yet, I wanna see centres or I’m done with him!!

 

[nhlfan9191]

I like Niemi, he’s a good goalie. This is the best goalie tandem we had since Halak was here. A bit of competition can’t be bad for Pricer.

You may be right but we’ve had good tandems whether it was Auld/Budaj/Tokarski/Montoya/Niemi. Goaltending at the NHL level hasn’t been an issue since that trade until Price went MIA this year. When it comes to our useless pro scouts, they seem to know how to find goaltenders.

 

[Milhouse40]

Is he a good goalie? In 19 games with us he did have a career high .929 save %, which is great but the last time he was close to that was in '12-'13 with the Sharks. His numbers have declined every year since, until he played for us which begs the question what happen and can he repeat it?

Despites good numbers this year with the Habs, Niemi is not really a good goalie anymore.
But this signing is all about injuries. Don't want to call back McNiven and leave the Rocket empty handed.
I'm sure they will do their best to give some good players to Bouchard to work with.

 

[OnTheRun]

Signing Niemi is the same as not signing Niemi. You can try to find a positive or a negative aspect on Niemi coming back, but when everything is said and done this move doesn't have enough impact to tip the scales in either direction.

The regime have much bigger fish to fry and Niemi won't save nor sink them in that respect.

 

[PhysicX]

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.

I'm ready to bet my account he will either:
1. Get injured and miss a large amount of games or
2. Revert to being an under .900 and over 3.00 goalie.

 

[Cole Caulifield]

The only way you can find this to be a negative is if you would have rather had a different backup to Price on the UFA market like say Ward.

But to me he's the right guy, he has that connection with Waite, he's a hard worker (according to accounts last year). Hopefully some of that work ethic and attitude (lol yes attitude) rubs off on Price.

And if he sucks ? To the AHL he goes, no skin off our backs.

But I honestly hope that he can handle like 35 games, and Price doesn't see that much ice until the playoffs.

 

[Cole Caulifield]

but he did, he clearly stated that the buck stops with him and it’s his mess to clean up. Did you not watch the press conference??

He said those words, but I don't think he really thinks he is to blame for this mess.

Even if his act was genuine... do we really want to see the guy who made all those mistakes be given another chance to fix it ? The reason why he f***ed it up in the first place are the same reasons he is not capable of fixing it.

Now Lamoriello will sign Tavares, and Bergevin will fail to bring in an actual #1 center again... and we will spin our wheels a little bit more. I hope that he fails summer of 2017 style. That's what would be good for this franchise. Let's go for Hughes/Lafrenière.

But as far as this move goes... I like it. But it's ultimately irrelevant if the other moves don't happen... and all the other moves have to start or end with Tavares. Anything less will not be enough.

 

[Chili]

Like the move, they learned their lesson about not having an experienced backup in 2015-16.

Lindgren needs to play to improve.

Just interested to see how this effects Price.

 

[Kriss E]

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.

I don't think Lindgren holds much of any value. Most teams have goalies like him in their ranks. He has shown nothing special. 2SO in 14GP...ya, an 3GAA, and low SA at 908, 14 games is a small sample. Down in the AHL....914 and 886 over 2 different seasons.
Honestly, if I were a fan of other teams, I would have very little interest in Lindgren.

 

[Kriss E]

but he did, he clearly stated that the buck stops with him and it’s his mess to clean up. Did you not watch the press conference??

You know how those words were BS?
Because he said what happened was completely unacceptable. So if he really felt like ''the buck stops with him'' and that ''what happened was unacceptable'',well then he would step down.
He isn't holding himself accountable, so he can say whatever he wants, it means nothing.

He also says it's on him but then mentions how some of the guys didn't have a good season and coaching, which shows deep down, he is pointing towards other people.

 

[Habs Icing]

I'm ready to bet my account he will either:
1. Get injured and miss a large amount of games or
2. Revert to being an under .900 and over 3.00 goalie.

By your account you mean the fake money that this site gives us? Okay. I'm game.

 

[Habaneros]

Is he a good goalie? In 19 games with us he did have a career high .929 save %, which is great but the last time he was close to that was in '12-'13 with the Sharks. His numbers have declined every year since, until he played for us which begs the question what happen and can he repeat it?

Niemi won the Montreal "Tank Vezina" trophy in 2018 in Montreal..better numbers than Pricer..lol

 

[Habaneros]

By your account you mean the fake money that this site gives us? Okay. I'm game.

No he is taking about his power bill(account)..DONT TAKE THE BET...

 

[Habaneros]

I like Niemi, he’s a good goalie. This is the best goalie tandem we had since Halak was here. A bit of competition can’t be bad for Pricer.

Watch, they will trade PRICE ..

It will be Halak /Niemi combo....