Pittsburgh Penguins: Could Antti Niemi Be Our New Backup?

The Dallas Stars have just bought out goaltender Antti Niemi. The Pittsburgh Penguins currently need someone to backup starter Matt Murray.

With the pickup of Marc-Andre Fleury by the Vegas Golden Knights, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been left without a backup goaltender. Matt Murray is the assumed starter, but we still need an effective backup to stay competitive.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Well it looks like another option has just opened up. With the Dallas Stars buying out Antti Niemi, it seems as though he could fit in here  in Pittsburgh.But is he really the right choice?

Niemi’s Price

Let’s face it, Niemi is 33 years old and has been declining for years now. He’s not spectacular and he has been having trouble keeping a starting job for the last few seasons. This season he had a 12-12 record with a 3.30 goals against average and a .892% save percentage.

Niemi doesn’t look like anything spectacular, and I surely think his days as a starting goaltender are long gone. Niemi is currently getting paid 4.5 million a year for three years. That’s a lot of money for a goalie who has not been able to be a starter. When looking at things this way, Niemi’s price tag is just too unattractive.

Should We Go For Him?

The interesting part now is that teams are aware of his declining play. Unless we get another dumb team willing to give him big money for mediocre starts, Niemi’s price tag just dropped a whole lot.

This can be good for the Penguins. If we can get him at somewhere between one to two million, he could be a great backup for us. Yes he may not have the best starts, but an occasional good start can be beneficial from a backup. The pressure won’t be on him any longer, and perhaps this would help him.