SHARKSPAGE

NHL ‘Free Agent Frenzy’ liveblog

PHI/TB GOALTENDER ANTERO NITTYMAKI REPORTEDLY SIGNS 2YR/$4M DEAL WITH SJ

NIITTYMAKI 21-18-5 IN 49GP WITH TB, 2.87GAA (37TH), .909SV% (24TH), 1SO

– Notes, links and analysis will be posted throughout the day with the 9AM start of NHL free agency. Feel free to contribute via twitter, contact form, or text message.

-Sharkspage transaction-wire:

2010 July 1st NHL Free Agent Signings

– LW Vaclav Prospal stays at NYR, 1YR, $2.1M
– F Scott John to Chicago, 1YR, $1M
– C Dustin Boyd stays at Montreal, 1YR, $650k
– LW Eric Nystrom to Minnesota, 3YRS, $4.2M
– LW Jeremy Reich to Boston, 1YR
– G Andrew Raycroft to Dallas, 2YRS
– C Matt Cullen to Minnesota, 3YRS, $10.5M
– LW Adam Burish to Dallas, 2YRS, $2.3M
– C Saku Koivu stays at Anaheim, 2YRS, $5M
– LW Jeff Tambellini to Vancouver, 1YR
– D Dan Hamhuis to Vancouver, 6YRS, $27M
– D Anton Volchenkov to NJ, 6YRS, $25.5M
– C Olli Jokinen to Calgary, 2YRS, $6M
– G Chris Mason to Atlanta, 2YRS, $3.7M
– D Kurtis Foster to Edmonton, 2YRS, $3.6M
– D Henrik Tallinder to NJ, 4YRS, $13.5M
– G Curtis Sanford to Montreal, 1YR, $550k
– RW Ray Whitney to Phoenix, 2YRS, $6M
– D Toni Lydman to Anaheim, 3YRS, $9M
– D Paul Martin to Pittsburgh, 5YRS, $25M
– LW Derek Boogard to NYR, 4YRS, $6.5M
– G Dan Ellis to Tampa Bay, 2YRS, $3M
– RW Jody Shelley to Philly, 3YRS, $3.3M
– D Derek Morris stays at Phoenix, 4YRS, $11M
– C Manny Malhotra to Vancouver, 3YRS, $7.5M
– D Sean O’Donnell to Philly, 1YR, $1M
– C Joel Perrault to Vancouver, 1YR, $510k
– G Antero Niittymaki to San Jose, 2YRS, $4M
– RW Colby Armstrong to Toronto, 3YRS, $9M
– G Alex Auld to Montreal, 1YR, $1M
– D Zbynek Michalek to Pittsburgh, 5YRS, $20M
– RW Alex Tangauy to Calgary, 1YR, $1.7M
– D Sergei Gonchar to Ottawa, 3YRS, 5.5M
– LW Dan Paille stays at Boston, 2YRS, $2.15M
– G Martin Biron to NYR, 2YRS, $1.75M

– On the second day of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the San Jose Sharks locked up checking line center Scott Nichol for one year at $760,000, and veteran defenseman Niclas Wallin at $2.5M for one year according to capgeek.com. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Wallin registered 2 assists in 23 games for San Jose after being acquired from Carolina, but playing at less than 100% in the playoffs the Sharks were forced to dress 7 defenseman when he was in the lineup.

“It will be good to be there from the start of the season, (the system) is different than I was used to,” Wallin told SJsharks.com. The Eastern Conference, where Wallin spent the first 8 and a half years of his career, is a little less tight around the goal crease. A more physical Western Conference suits Wallin’s game and mentality. Wallin missed 9 games in the postseason due to injury, but he proved to be an effective, albeit slowed, crease clearing element against Detroit and Chicago.

The moves locked in three forward lines and give the Sharks a full compliment of defenseman with NHL experience, but blueline depth and goaltending were needs heading into free agency. On Tuesday the Sharks made qualifying offers to restricted free agent right wing Devin Setoguchi (2009-10 salary $1.2M), defenseman Derek Joslin (2009-10 salary $700k), and AHL forward Steven Zalewski (2009-10 salary $500k). According to the NHL, players who earned less than $660,000 in the previous season must be offered 110 percent of last season’s salary, players making up to $1 million must be offered 105 percent, and players making over $1 million must be offered 100 percent.

The Sharks moved in a different direction from Masterton Trophy nominee Jed Ortmeyer. Ortmeyer struggled late in the season after suffering a double hernia injury, the same injury that Jonathan Cheechoo struggled with. The Sharks did not make qualifying offers to Daniel Rahimi (acquired in the Ehrhoff trade), Michael Vernance (Atlanta contract trade), and collegiate FA signee Matt Jones.

– According to the NHL Network’s NHL Live, former Flyers and Lighting goaltender Antero Niittymaki is now a San Jose Shark. Confirmed via the twitter of ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun here and here, Niittymaki signed a 2 year, $4 million dollar deal. Per Lebrun’s late report yesterday, neither Niittymaki or Foster had heard from Tampa Bay prior to the start of free agency.

– Niittymaki Signs With San Jose, Doug Wilson Finds A Netminder – SJsharks.com.

The San Jose Sharks have signed unrestricted free agent goaltender Antero Niittymaki to a two-year contract.

Niittymaki, 30, just completed his sixth NHL season posting a 21-18-5 record, .909 save percentage and 2.87 goals against average with Tampa Bay. He went a season-high eight consecutive games without a regulation loss from Jan. 21 thru Feb. 9 including a shutout on Jan. 27 vs. Montreal.

Prior to his one season in Tampa Bay, he played in parts of five seasons with Philadelphia from 2003-2009. In 210 career games, Niittymaki has an 83-79-28 record with a 2.98 goals against average, .903 save percentage and five shutouts. He won a career high 23 games in 2005-06 with the Flyers and his .912 save percentage in 2008-09 with Philadelphia was his best for a full season.

– A router meltdown stopped the liveblog in its tracks, but with only one acquisition and one departure it was not the most hectic of ‘Free Agent Frenzy’ days from a San Jose perspective.

– The addition of former Flyer, former Lightning goaltender Antero Niittymaki was a bit of a surprising one. At 6-foot-1, 190-pounds he is a solid butterfly goaltender that covers a significant portion of the crease down low. Asked to describe his style of play in net by Mercury News beat writer David Pollak, Niittymaki said that Sharks fans are used to the style of Finnish goalies after Miikka Kiprusoff and Vesa Toskala. The Turku, Finland native Niittymaki compared himself to fellow Turku native Kirprusoff, “My style of play is pretty much like Kiprusoff, a lot of Finnish goalies our technique is built the same way,” Niittymaki said in a press conference.

Sharkspage would draw the comparison more to former San Jose goaltender Vesa Toskala. Niittymaki is actually a touch bigger than Kiprusoff and Toskala, but he is patient in net and forces shooters to make the first move which was Toskala’s strength. Kiprusoff was a little more of an athletic, explosive goaltender. “I am so excited (to come to SJ), it is a great opportunity for me,” Niittymaki said. “San Jose has been one of the best teams in the regular season the last 2 or 3 years… I don’t expect anything else, and I am expecting to do well in the playoffs too.”

In one of the largest goaltending markets in recent memory, Niittymaki said the Sharks were the first team to call him. “It happened pretty quick,” he said. “If you get a chance to sign with one of the best teams in the league, you can’t really pass that up. I was in Tampa last year and we missed the playoffs, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”

Asked about playing for his third team in three years, Niittymaki replied, “Last summer was kind of where am I going to go, what is going to happen. I think I had a pretty decent year last year.” Niittymaki registered a 21-18-5 in 49 games played with a struggling Tampa Bay Lightning team last season. He finished with a 2.87GAA (37th in the NHL) and a .909SV% (24th in the NHL). In 4 seasons with Philadelphia, Niittymaki started more than 50 games once, and earned more than 20 wins in only his rookie season (2005-06) “If you have to move, it is always a lot nicer to move to a great team,” Niittymaki said. He will replace a goaltender that averaged 40+ wins and 70 starts over the last 3 years.

After the announcement the Sharks were going to change direction in goal, Sharkspage grouped free agent/potentially available goaltenders into three tiers. Evgeni Nabokov, Marty Turco, Boston’s Tim Thomas and Washington’s Jose Theodore were in the first tier. Dan Ellis, Chris Mason, Jaroslav Halak and Michael Leighton were in the second tier. Niittymaki lead a third tier along with Johan Hedberg, Patrick Lalime, Martin Biron, and former Shark Vesa Toskala.

While the Sharks opted for a goaltender in the third tier, his shot blocking ability and style match what they were looking for. They wanted a patient, butterfly goaltender that is consistently going to make the same type of saves on a regular basis. There are a few competing opinions on Niittymaki around the NHL. Scotty Bowman mentioned to Pierre LeBrun that Niittymaki was a very underrated talent in goal, a view this blog agrees with. Others have pointed to his inconsistency. ESPN’s Scott Burnside said that Niittymaki “came out of the woodwork” to sign in SJ, and that he has almost no playoff experience (73 minutes according to Burnside). “It is a giant leap of faith for Doug Wilson to think he can get the job done,” Burnside said.

For an Intro to Philadelphia goaltending 101, and a slight glimpse of the pressure former Shark goaltender Brian Boucher and Antero Niittymaki faced in the city, read this article by LeBrun in 2009: Philly’s search for No. 1 goalie continues.

Since Ron Hextall’s excellent first tour of duty in the Flyers’ net from the 1986-87 season to 1991-92, the revolving door in the Flyers’ goal has been mesmerizing. The search for a true No. 1 has been endless.

It started with Tommy Soderstrom in 1992-93, followed the next season by Dominic Roussel. Then came Hextall’s second tour of (twilight) duty, followed by the likes of Garth Snow, Sean Burke, John Vanbiesbrouck, Brian Boucher, Roman Cechmanek, Robert Esche, Niittymaki and then Biron.

By our count, that’s 11 masked men who have had legitimate handles on the Flyers’ No. 1 job over 16 seasons. The New Jersey Devils have had the same guy in net for the past 15 seasons. The Flyers? They’ve averaged about 1.5 seasons per starting goalie. Talk about a short shelf life.

The addition by the Sharks is a little less a leap of faith when you consider Niittymaki will be pushed in goal by German Thomas Greiss (athletic, potential #1 down the line according to this blog), Alex Stalock (most wins in AHL last year, highly rated by Worcester correspondent Darryl Hunt) and fellow Finnish member of the ‘Goaltending Factory’ Harri Sateri (very highly regarded by SJ radio analyst Dan Rusanowsky). If San Jose can get back to a competition for starts in goal, something that pushed every ounce of competitiveness out of Kiprusoff, Toskala and Nabokov, this could be a very successful move. Goal support and the defensive system in place also make it less of a gamble.

A little left out in the discussion of goaltending styles, and how goaltenders fit into the salary structure of a team, are how the defenses are put together in front of a goalie. A shot blocking, butterfly style only works if the defense clears rebounds and bodies out of the crease. The two Stanley Cup Finalists in Chicago and Philadelphia had two of the strongest top 4’s in the league. Niittymaki’s 2-year, $4 million deal is more than Ellis (2YRS, $3M), Biron (2YRS, $1.75M), or a second tier goalie like Chris Mason signed for (2YRS, $3.7M), but it still allows the Sharks the salary flexibility to re-sign RFA Devin Setoguchi and possibly add an upgrade to the defense in the offseason, or before the 2010-11 trade deadline.

– A transcript of San Jose Sharks EVP/GM Doug Wilson’s conference call with the media after signing Antero Niittymaki:

(What went into the decision to sign Antero Niittymaki?)

We included all of our staff in the process. Once we made the decision on Nabokov, we went in to researching the style of play, the type of goalies that were having success in this league. You don’t have to go back to far this past year to see the type of success the Niemi’s, Halak’s, Leighton’s, etc. We looked at the style, and the type of goalie, and we broke it down a little bit. The type of guys we wanted had a winning history, and have played in a certain environment.

Antero jumped out at us for a lot of reasons. He won the MVP in the Calder Cup playoffs when they won a Cup in 04-05. We really liked his performance in the Olympics in 2006. We liked him ever since that point. I think he was the MVP goalie of the tournament.

There are things to his game that make a lot of sense. There are a couple of other guys we are looking at. We thought there would be a supply of goalies in this market, but we also felt that we wanted to go get the guy we wanted. Once we decided Antero was our guy, we thought we would be a pretty attractive fit. It came together quickly, and we are very excited to have him to be part of the tandem of this team. We do believe in our young goalies. We think he is at a great point in his career. People I respect in the goaltending world, I did check and reference with them also.

(What will Niittymaki’s role be in San Jose?)

We have a lot of competition, it will be decided on the ice. With his history, he is understanding what he is coming in to, and the opportunity he is going to get.

(Will there been any other UFA moves or trades by San Jose?)

It is a long way before the season starts. You take a look at the pieces that fit. We have been very active in the UFA market in many ways by re-signing your own players, the Marleau’s, the Pavelski’s, the Nichol’s, etc. We are looking at that. There are many opportunities out there as we monitor what is going on in the UFA market… we are also exploring trade discussions. That is probably where we are going to spend most of our attention the next little while, lateral deals and trades.

(Was this move by San Jose part of a trend in the NHL?)

(The change in the goalie market) has been going on for 5 years. You can go all the way back to Cam Ward in Carolina, then to Detroit going the way of Osgood instead of a high end goaltender. The type of goalies that have got it done under these rules, and under this system, you mentioned a couple this year Niemie, Leighton, I think that is really what happens. When we talk to our guys, we take a look at what it is before who. What it is is the style of goaltending, the dedication of dollars, and the ages of guys, you are always looking for the next Niemi, the next Anderson, the next Hiller. Nittymaki is a player we really liked. That is what is happening in the league right now.

– The Sharks had to make a difficult decision on forward Manny Malhotra. A versatile centerman, Malhotra would have finished top in the league in faceoffs (62.5%) had he not switched over to wing and missed the 500 minimum draws. He also finished with a 62.7% mark in the postseason.

When Columbus decided to go with fomer Anaheim stalwart Samuel Pahlsson at the start of 2009-10, they felt at the time that they had made the better choice between the two players. The Sharks swooped in, but tight against the salary cap Malhotra accepted less than 50% of what he made a year earlier in Columbus to sign for $700,000 in San Jose. He accepted San Jose’s offer over a 4-year, $8 million offer from Atlanta.

At times anchoring the third line, and also switching up to wing on the second line, Malhotra finished with a career high 14 goals and helped the Sharks to a Western Conference Championship. After solid playoff performances in the first and second round against Colorado and Detroit, Manny hit a wall against Chicago.

After the season was over, Malhotra was asked by the media if he wanted to remain with the team. “The talks we had last year with Doug (Wilson), we didn’t want it to be a one and done situation. I wanted to find a home again, to grow a home with an organization. It has been a great start, and hopefully this relationship can continue,” he said.

According to beat writer David Pollak’s blog, GM Doug Wilson had a “pretty good picture” he would not be able to re-sign Malhotra after recent negotiations. “We knew what we were comfortable with and we gave that to him a couple of weeks ago. It was a very respectful negotiation. We also were very appreciative of what he gave us last year,” Wilson told Pollak.

The Sharks have depth at center, with multiple converted centerman playing on the wing last year, but they also have the development of Logan Couture who could fill a role on the third line. Wilson also mentioned that another veteran may want to come in and play for San Jose for a similar type of deal, before “springboarding” to a larger contract with a different team.

The dollar and term didn’t fit into the Sharks salary structure, but there is also the feeling that Malhotra did the franchise a solid that was not returned in kind. Malhotra signed for 3 years, $7.5 million with the Northwest Division winning Vancouver Canucks. The Vancouver Province believes he will be a replacement for Kyle Wellwood.

– 2010 UFA Centers by Faceoff Percentage and Usage – John Fischer for InLouweTrust.com.

– No Evgeni Nabokov, no Marty Turco signings on the first day of free agency is pretty significant news. The Sharks setting their sights on Niittymaki instead of Turco was rather surprising. Many of the mainstream reporters and those in the hockey blogging community at the NHL draft last weekend believed that Turco was the most desired netminder by San Jose.

– Lots of content yesterday via the twitter of CSNCA reporter Brodie Brazil, a video interview with head coach Todd McLellan, a video interview with RFA Devin Setoguchi, and a video interview with GM Doug Wilson. Setoguchi said he wants to return to San Jose, that the direction and recent success of the team is something he wants to be a part of.

– San Jose television analyst Drew Remenda commented on the acquisition of goaltender Antero Niittymaki and the departure of Manny Malhotra on his SJsharks.com blog. TSN/Blues analyst Darren Pang told Remenda that Niittymaki was “MVP material with the Lightning for a good chunk of the season.”

– The harsh lesson of Nabokov and Turco – Mike Chen for FromTheRink.com.

Goaltending is obviously the most unique position for any hockey team. There’s only one, so there’s only 30 starting jobs in the league. It’s not like a defenseman or forward who can be signed as a low-end guy and work his way up the lineup. As Heidi Klum would say, you’re either in or you’re out (well, kind of; you could still get back-up minutes). For Nabokov and Turco, they gambled and lost — for all practical purposes, they’re out. If you look at goaltending across the board, there’s really nowhere they can go unless they drop their contract demands and a team wants to have veteran support for their young goalies (such as Columbus with Steve Mason).

In the salary cap world, supply-and-demand controls free agency more than ever. And with long-term contracts becoming more commonplace, teams can easily get hamstrung by their previous commitments long before free agency even opens up. Let this be a lesson to free agents in upcoming seasons — if the market really isn’t looking good and a favorable situation opens up to you, it might be worth swallowing your pride and taking less dollars instead of playing chicken with your career.

– TSN’s James Duthie and Darren Pang examined the free agent goaltending situation as part of yesterday’s massive “Free Agent Frenzy” broadcast in Canada, pretty much the Super Bowl of offseason trade and roster speculation. Pang on the goaltending market at the start of the UFA: Nabokov and Turco are the legit #1’s (over 65 games a year guys), Nabokov might be headed to the KHL, “he priced himself out of the market”, on his not re-signing in SJ “I thought Doug Wilson handled that extremely well” and “he had a great deal of respect for what he did for the SJ Sharks”, on Nabokov “he may be on the back 9 of his NHL career”. Pang also believed Atlanta, Tampa Bay and San Jose were the most likely destinations to make a move in goal, and that “San Jose is the winner’s market”. He believed Chris Mason would be the goaltender moving to the Sharks.

At the end of day 1, Pang noted that San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson had targeted Antero Niittymaki straight off. The goaltender and his agent had conversations about re-signing with Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman, but fairly quickly that team turned its attention to Dan Ellis. “Last year (Niittymaki) had an outstanding year, really carried the load for the Tampa Bay Lightning,” Pang said. “Kind of slid down the last 8-10 games of the year for the Lightning, otherwise carried the load and was argueably their MVP at time during the season.”

Bob McKenzie, Gord and Darren discuss the Vancouver Canucks signing of Manny Malhotra to a 3-year deal as part of TSN’s Free Agent Frenzy broadcast (video). According to McKenzie, the Canucks came out of the playoffs knowing they had to get bigger, more physical, and more depth on the bottom half of their lineup. “They paid a premium to do that.” There was also a no-trade clause included in the contract according to TSN.

– ESPN’s Pierre Lebrun takes a look at which UFA’s did not move on July 1st: Which players are left after Day 1. LeBrun spoke with Evgeni Nabokov’s agent Don Meehan about his client remaining on the board after the first day, and on possible opportunities in Russia. “He’s a great goalie, an elite goalie… It’s just a matter of positions that are available; the positions are scarce. It’s not that he doesn’t have any options. He’s got outstanding options in Russia,” Meehan told LeBrun.

– Max Giese’s 2010 NHL Entry draft review will be posted later today.

– Wilson Eyes Trade Market as Day One of Free Agency comes to a close – SBN’s Fear the Fin blog.

– A couple of comments from GM/EVP Doug Wilson on yesterday’s interview with KNBR 680AM:

(Is Antero Niittymaki going to be the starting goaltender?)

He will be, but I think Thomas Greiss and Alex Stalock will come in and try to compete and push him for that. This is a guy we looked at, he won the MVP in the 2006 Olympics. He was the most valuable goaltender there. He was very successful in the American Hockey League, he won a Calder Cup and he was the MVP there. This is a guy that is coming in, he will be tough to knock out of the net, but our other guys know we believe in them too.

(What type of goaltender do you look for, when you look for one?)

There are a lot of different things, one is does he make the big saves when it matters. We have a guy here who played in the Olympics and was MVP. He won a championship in the American Hockey League, he has gone through that. In this league you are looking at a style of play that has been different than 4 or 5 years ago because of the new rules and how teams play, sometimes a bigger goalie that takes away the bottom half of the net. Some of the guys the last couple of years in this league, a Niemi in Chicago, a Hiller in Anaheim, people like that. When we started this process, I told our staff to take a look at what it is that is winning before who it is that is winning. We went through that, and when we started putting names together, this guy just bubbled up to the top of the list. It has been about a 2-3 week process to get to where we are today.

(Whenever people criticized Nabokov, people would say he was the goaltender for the Russian national team. That would pretty much shut people up… last year he struggled. How much weight do we give this?)

It does (mean a lot being the Finnish national goalie) when you go to the gold medal game, and you are voted the most valuable player in the Olympics. He not only went and played there, he had high end success there. I think that does tell you something, because he got it done best on best. To get it done in the American Hockey League, and being the MVP on the Championship team, he got it done. We put equity in what your accomplishments are, not just in participating. This guy has a pretty strong resume. We think he is just coming into his prime, he is the right age, and it creates a really strong tandem for us where you don’t have one guy playing 70 games, you have guys that push each other every night.

(Will Greiss and Stalock battle it out for the backup job, or will the three of them battle for the starting job?)

It is funny, around this league Niemi took the job from Huet, Rask took the job from Thomas, so you never say never. Our two young guys think they can come in and take this net. It will get decided in training camp. You have to say Niitti will be the number one guy, these other two guys can certainly come in and change that if they want.