After hearing Antti Niemi's agent Billy Zito talk on AM 1000 this morning, it is clearer than ever that signing Niemi for under 3 million dollars is a fantasy. Realistically, the asking price is probably closer to 4 million.
It is assumed that the Hawks can't afford Niemi at that price without moving Patrick Sharp or Brian Campbell. Until yesterday, it was basically a fact. But the Hawks have made two under the radar signings in the last two days that may positively impact their ability to keep their #1 goaltender.
Yesterday, the Hawks signed Russian prospect Igor Makarov to a 2-year deal worth $552,000 a season. Today, they re-signed Jack Skille to a 1 year deal worth $600,000. Both of these players could be be NHL-ready and will have a very good chance to make the lineup out of training camp.
Why could these two signings help the Hawks keep Niemi? It gives them options. With an abundance of low-salary players, the Hawks have more replacement opportunities to shed salary from their roster.
Take a look at this lineup that fits under the salary cap, assuming Hendry and Bickell are back at $600,000 each and Niemi's cap hit is $4 million (Salary numbers provided by the awesome site, Hawkscap.com):
Troy Brouwer (1.025) Jonathan Toews (6.3) Patrick Kane (6.3)
Marian Hossa (5.275) Patrick Sharp (3.9) Jack Skille (0.6)
Viktor Stalberg (0.850) Dave Bolland (3.375) Igor Makarov (0.552)
Bryan Bickell (0.600) Jake Dowell (0.525) John Scott (0.512)
Duncan Keith (5.538) Brent Seabrook (3.5)
Niklas Hjalmarsson (3.5) Brian Campbell (7.1)
Jordan Hendry (0.600) Shawn Lalonde (0.773)
Antti Niemi (4.0)
Hannu Toivonen (0.550)
Here is the salary rundown of this roster, according to capgeek.com:
Roster Size: 20
Salary Cap: $59,400,000
Team Payroll: $59,601,923 (Including bonus penalty from Toews Conn Smythe, etc)
Bonuses: $285,000
Cap Space: $83,077
Yes, believe it or not, that lineup would be legal to hit the ice on opening night in Colorado. The Hawks would likely want to have more cap space than $83,000, but beggars can't be choosers.
Essentially, the idea of the above lineup is that you move both Marty Reasoner AND Tomas Kopecky and replace them with lower salary players to free up roughly $1 million in cap space. The two players could be traded for draft picks or placed in Rockford.
Marty Reasoner is John Madden 2.0, and while Tomas Kopecky is a solid enough player, replacing him with a young and cheap player like Skille would give the Hawks more money to work with.
This lineup is really quite good. The top two lines are intact from last season, and the bottom two lines boast a combination of speed and grit. Makarov is fast, Stalberg is blazing, and John Scott is a better fighter than Adam Burish and Ben Eager combined. Jake Dowell and Bryan Bickell were solid in limited appearances last year as well.
People may worry about a Lalonde/Hendry defense pairing, but think about it: Is Lalonde/Hendry going to be any worse than Sopel/Hendry?
The more cheap signings the Hawks make, the better the chances are of keeping Antti Niemi.
But only if Stan Bowman is willing to ice one of the youngest teams in NHL history.
-JT
Follow me on Twitter @JTalarico328 for all things Chicago Blackhawks.
Filed under: Blackhawks, Chicago Blackhawks
Tags: AM 1000, Antti Niemi, Billy Zito, Brent Seabrook, Brent Sopel, Brian Campbell, Bryan Bickell, capgeek.com, Dave Bolland, Duncan Keith, ESPN, Hawkscap.com, Igor Makarov, Jack Skille, Jake Dowell, John Scott, Jonathan Toews, Jordan Hendry, Marian Hossa, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Shawn Lalonde, Stan Bowman, Troy Brouwer, Viktor Stalberg
Yesterday, you said trading Kopecky and Reasoner "won't happen." Today??? What changed? Just the Skille and Makarov signings? These two alone make Kopecky and Reasoner expendable?
Also, could Niemi be signed for, say 4 years and $16m, but the first year is at $2.8m and then the salary increases over the rest of the contract? If this could be done, would this just mean the Hawks just have the same problem next season?
And if it comes down to Sharp or Niemi... you've got to keep Sharp.
^ Was wondering if anyone would point out that inconsistency :)
I admittedly began to change my mind when the Hawks made both of these VERY cheap signings, and there are reasons to believe that both Skille and Makarov were basically told they have a roster spot to lose. Skille signed for 600,000, less than his last contract. He is basically paying for his chance to play. And based on Makarov's recent history, it's doubtful that he'd come to North America without a VERY good chance at a spot on the big club. He wouldn't come here to play for Rockford.
With that in mind, it would make sense to move the two players I suggest to free up cap space without losing all that much. The way I see it, if the team is deciding to go super young this year anyways, you might as well make minor moves like that to improve the financial situation.
Thanks for reading.
First off, the NHL requires 23 players counted on your cap per capgeek http://www.capgeek.com/index.php . Secondly, John Scott is a defensemen. The Hawks will have to do some nifty cap-maneuvering to keep Niemi, but ultimately, they'll have to trade either Bolland or Sharp.
1)I'm quite sure it is not required to have 23 players counted on your cap. Most teams have 21 or 22.
2)John Scott can play both forward and defense. Just because he is listed as a defenseman doesn't mean he hasn't played forward before.
Bolland/Sharp aren't going anywhere. Basically if they can afford Niemi, they keep him, and if they can't, he leaves. No way they'd move Bolland or especially Sharp to keep him.
Interesting article, but what do you do with Huet? Rockford??
Huet will be playing in Rockford or Europe, and therefore will not be counted in the Hawks' salary total.
Has that decision been made?? I hope you're right, but until that decision is made, shouldn't it be included in your theory? And don't you think Crawford will get the first shot as backup goalie before Toinenen?
It has all but been made. Every Hawks writer there is (including ESPN's Jesse Rogers and the Herald's Tim Sassone) have stated it as fact. And in a translated French interview, Huet said that he does not expect to be back with the Hawks next season and the team hasn't contacted him at all this summer. If Huet doesn't go, the Hawks wouldn't even be able to ice a legal team under the cap.
As far as Crawford vs. Toivonen, I only penciled in Toivonen because he is cheaper. If money isn't an issue, Crawford probably has the better chance. To say he has paid his dues would be an understatement.
I've no idea why the hell we traded for Reasoner, other than Bowman screwed up, I remember him saying that it's all good now with the cap, if it really was we wouldn't be having this discussion. My feelings are that the Hawks are chilling to hope to get to arbitration, Niemi's agent has said he wants to get it done before then for more than the arbitrator would probably give him, so not getting the deal done isn't a big deal at all unless someone signs him to a sheet, which won't happen because GM's are timid to throw that kind of money at a goalie with not a lot of experience.
If it did come down to Sharp or Niemi, Sharp will be gone on his own in 2 years, the worst thing about dealing Niemi is that this screws the cap even worse, who is going to be the starter, Toivonen? You can't put Huey on the team or the cap gets screwed up worse. So the Hawks hands are tied here, fortunately that is :)