San Jose Sharks Continue Search For Goaltending
Apr 4, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; San Jose Sharks goalie Antti Niemi (31) makes a save during the second period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
It’s official. Antti Niemi won’t be back with the San Jose Sharks as his time in teal came to an end after five seasons. On Saturday, general manager Doug Wilson traded the rights to Niemi, a pending unrestricted free agent, to the Dallas Stars in exchange for the 193rd pick (seventh round) in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Niemi appears close on signing a two-or-three-year deal with the Stars according to Ken Campbell of The Sporting News.
With Niemi departing, now the big question for Wilson is who replaces Niemi? There were a fluery of goaltenders who were on the move at the draft, but none of them were headed to San Jose.
Cam Talbot, long rumored to be on the Sharks’s wish list, was instead traded to the Edmonton Oilers. Martin Jones was sent to the Boston Bruins. The Carolina Hurricanes traded for Eddie Lack and then shipped Anton Khudobin to the Anaheim Ducks.
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The Sharks could try and target John Gibson of the Ducks now that Khudobin has been dealt there but I highly doubt Anaheim would want to send Gibson to one of their main division rivals. Also, there was speculation that Dallas might try and trade Kari Lehtonen with Niemi coming in, but that doesn’t appear likely either.
So, where does all this leave San Jose? Well, for one thing, the Sharks did resign Troy Grosenick to a two-year deal, but he will probably spend next season with the San Jose Barracuda. Also, San Jose drafted two goaltenders, Mike Robinson (86th overall) and John Kupsky (193rd overall, pick they obtained for Niemi), but obviously neither are the answer at this juncture.
It appears Wilson could look to the free agent market in hopes of finding a number one option or someone who could split time with Alex Stalock, who has one year remaining on his current contract. Two potential fits could be Karri Ramo of the Calgary Flames or Michal Neuvirth of the New York Islanders.
Of the two, Neuvirth appears the better fit in San Jose. He’s younger and has had more experience at the NHL level than Ramo, who broke out this past season. The former second round pick, Neuvirth has a 66-63-17 record with a .912 save percetange and a 2.73 goals-again-average.
No matter who comes in, Wilson has to do something to fill the void created by Niemi, who was more than serviceable during his five years manning the crease in San Jose.