Thanks, But We Don't Need You Anymore

Antti Niemi has become a household name in the homes of NHL fans after his strong performance in the latter half of this past season. The Finnish born star helped to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup title in 49 years.

Niemi made his first NHL appearance on October 3rd, 2009 in a 4 - 0 shutout win over the Florida Panthers in Helsinki, Finland. At the beginning of the season Niemi was slated into the backup position with little expectations. Niemi quickly made a name for himself when his play was matching if not exceeding that of starting goalie Cristobal Huet. The two split the starting goaltender role up until the point Huet was forced out of the lineup with the flu. Niemi jumped at the opportunity when he put up a 1.33 goals against average including two shutouts in a span of three games.

From that point on Niemi became the number one goalie in Chicago up until the point they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. After months of celebration serious talks for the new season began and several moves needed to be made. Niemi who was only on a one year deal with the Hawks, was waiting for the arbitrators to decide his future with the club.To the disappointment of many the Hawks passed on the 27 year old Niemi and he became a Free Agent.

Things have taken a positive turn for Niemi as he was picked up by the the San Jose Sharks, on a deal that would see him making two million dollars for the upcoming campaign. This seems like a real slap in the face to Niemi who lead the Hawks through the good and the bad. He resembled a pinball machine the way he kicked pucks out. For Chicago to get rid of him seems like a very poor choice as he is proven, experienced and perhaps most important is the fact that he is young. After what he did for the club this just seems like wrongful dismissal, show some respect to the guy after he earned a championship in his rookie year.

The Sharks are going to be a cup contender for sure with Niemi between the pipes, hopefully he knocks Chicago down a peg after this blatant disregard for talent!