Contract Termination: [WPG] Sami Niku (cleared; signs with MTL)
- Thread starter Booba
- Start date
- Status
He was AHL Defenseman of the year 2017-2018, the kid was dynamite. Sometimes things just don't turn out.
jetsforever
Registered User
- Dec 14, 2013
- 27,499
- 23,625
Yukon Joe
Registered User
Niku has been on the market for a long time, very much doubt he gets picked up. Probably clears waivers and hopes someone will sign him to a 2-way contract.
Frolov 6'3
Unregistered User
I feel like being awarded the Eddie Shore Award for best AHL defenseman is a pretty decent accomplishment and is a fair reason to be excited about a prospect.
If you saw any of his games/highlights from that season they were great. I feel like there was good reason to be excited about Sami Niku, regardless of what hindsight now offers us.
This being said, there are TONS of players who received the Eddie Shore Award who never made or stuck with the NHL.
I'm not saying this as any form of speculation or implication about Niku personally.
But from what I know, he seems like he's an above replacement level defenseman with a decent pedigree who is still young and on a league minimum contract.
So that brings up the question; wonder if this is because he is not compliant with team vaccination policies, and is too far down the lineup for the Jets to consider accomodating him. It would also explain the mutual termination angle.
But from what I know, he seems like he's an above replacement level defenseman with a decent pedigree who is still young and on a league minimum contract.
So that brings up the question; wonder if this is because he is not compliant with team vaccination policies, and is too far down the lineup for the Jets to consider accomodating him. It would also explain the mutual termination angle.
Frolov 6'3
Unregistered User
Being excited no problem but it was worse than that.
I know because he was constantly being compared with Voynov for obvious reasons but Voynov wasn’t very good defensively either. People just see the offensive numbers.
- Jun 26, 2002
- 24,963
- 9,396
That seems like a stretch. I think he just isn't in the Jets plans and they offered to terminate his contract instead of putting him on waivers so he can decide for himself where he goes.
SomeDude
Registered User
That's definitely the more likely conclusion lol
But that could very easily be something that we start to encounter, and given that we know 2% of players are not vaccinated, lots of people have speculated that it could happen... Just curious if this is the first instance of it is all.
malcb33
Registered User
Royale With Cheese
----
- Nov 24, 2006
- 8,187
- 14,624
I think it's the bolded. He's been an NHL tweener for a few years. The Jets just added two NHL D through trades, and they've got guys like Dylan Samberg, Ville Heinola, and Jon Kovacevic ahead of him as far as prospects go.
I think the Jets tried to trade him and couldn't find a taker. They probably just did him a solid and let him go find a team on his own.
Josh Morrissey hinted that everyone in the Jets organization will be vaccinated by the start of the season. this was from last week.
maybe they knew niku wasn't going to be? not sure.
if he signs elsewhere, then the vaccination point is moot.
mouser
Business of Hockey
Maybe the only offers they were getting were for future considerations, or worse taking back an AHL contract WPG didn't want?
Niku was a promising prospect that probably should have amounted to more.
He kinda seems like a classic case the backward, failed model of player development a lot of teams subscribe to. Niku is/was an offensive, risk-taking defenseman. But in order to make the NHL, he necessarily was going to have to alter his game to be more physical and play safer, so he can produce some nothing minutes on a 3rd pair.
That would really just make someone like him a worse player though. You blunt the best aspects of his game and tell him to elevate the worst aspects. Obviously, there is some minimum bar of defensive ability needed to be in the NHL, but this likely didn't help. And at the end of all that, he doesn't meaningfully improve and is let go from the organization.
He kinda seems like a classic case the backward, failed model of player development a lot of teams subscribe to. Niku is/was an offensive, risk-taking defenseman. But in order to make the NHL, he necessarily was going to have to alter his game to be more physical and play safer, so he can produce some nothing minutes on a 3rd pair.
That would really just make someone like him a worse player though. You blunt the best aspects of his game and tell him to elevate the worst aspects. Obviously, there is some minimum bar of defensive ability needed to be in the NHL, but this likely didn't help. And at the end of all that, he doesn't meaningfully improve and is let go from the organization.
Dr Pepper
Registered User
Paris in Flames
Registered User
- Feb 4, 2009
- 15,903
- 7,935
The same TJ Brennan who played in North America and was a reclamation project for about a decade before going overseas?
Not sure this is the argument you think it is.
- Status
Ad
Upcoming events
-
-
-
-
-
BET ON ONLY ONE HORSE WATCH LIVE - FINGER LAKES RACE 1 - Farmington, NYWagers: 2Staked: $273.00Event closes- Updated: