The Blackhawks’ makeover of their Stanley Cup championship team went from substantial to stunning on Monday when they cut their ties to standout goaltender Antti Niemi.
The Hawks rejected an arbitrator’s decision to award Niemi a $2.75 million salary. In choosing not to pay it, they parted company with the 26-year-old playoffs stalwart, making him an unrestricted free agent, available to any team that will meet that mandated price.
In a related move, they signed 34-year-old Marty Turco away from the Dallas Stars and made it clear the three-time All-Star enters training camp as their No. 1 goalie, with 22-year-old Corey Crawford his likely backup. Niemi joins Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd, Brent Sopel, John Madden, Ben Eager and Adam Burish as Cup-winning Blackhawks who will be wearing different uniforms when the team begins defense of its title in two months. Niemi’s departure is the most surprising and potentially the most perilous — he was rock-steady in goal after taking over the No. 1 spot from the beleaguered Cristobal Huet in March and was alternately solid and spectacular with a 16-6 record through four rounds of playoffs.
To a man the Hawks credited Niemi’s imperturbable demeanor and big-play capabilities as essential components to their first Cup hoist in 49 years. But even champions must live on a budget in the tightly capped NHL. As a restricted free agent, Niemi had the right to seek salary arbitration; as a Stanley Cup-winning goaltender, his value increased exponentially. The arbitrator’s award more than tripled the $845,000 he earned as an NHL rookie, and it was clearly more than the cap-challenged Hawks believed they could commit to him. So they made a painful decision to say goodbye to Niemi, an easygoing, popular locker-room presence who helped make ends meet as a Zamboni driver in his native Finland before signing with the Hawks three years ago.
“We exhausted all our options,” Hawks general manager Stan Bowman told reporters on Monday. “We made several offers, including a multi-year offer, and we couldn’t work it out. So we decided to go in another direction.”
Bowman said the Hawks had hoped to retain Niemi, but his optimism waned after agent Bill Zito opted for arbitration and a take-it-or-leave-it conclusion to the negotiating process.
“You can’t be surprised,” Bowman said. “We had an idea on a contract figure that would work, and they had ideas on what they were looking for. An agreement just didn’t materialize. So it’s on to the next thing.”
Turco’s availability makes Niemi’s departure somewhat less worrisome, Bowman said.
“Marty’s an accomplished goaltender in the league, hungry to win a Cup. His record speaks for itself. We’re excited to have someone of Marty’s caliber in our organization.”
Turco, the goalie on two NCAA Frozen Four championship teams at the University of Michigan, has played 10 seasons in Dallas, compiling a 2.31 goals-against average that is second-best among active goaltenders. He has a 21-26 playoff record in 47 games over five seasons. Turco was an All-Star in 2003, ’04 and ’07 and played for Team Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. He won at least 30 games for the Stars from 2002-2009, with a career-high 41 wins in 2005-06. He’s coming off a 22-20-11 season with a 2.72 goals-against average and four shutouts for a Dallas team that failed to reach the playoffs.
Turco agreed to a one-year contract. He interrupted a golfing vacation in Scotland to talk with reporters.
“It’s 55 and rainy over here, but it’s a warm-and-fuzzy day for me,” he said. “It’s almost a dream come true for me to play for an Original Six team, especially the Blackhawks—Tony Esposito is from my home town [Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario]. This is an amazing day for me.”
Turco had contact with several teams and an offer from the Philadelphia Flyers, but he kept his options open in hopes that a deal with the Hawks would materialize.
“All along, my focus was on the team that had the best chance to win,” he said. “From watching the playoffs, that was clearly the Blackhawks. They’re all about winning, from top to bottom.”
Unlike the Stars, who are beset by financial turmoil as former owner Tom Hicks seeks to unload the team in bankruptcy proceedings.
“It makes for a long summer when you’re not in the playoffs, and the last two years haven’t gone the way we would have liked,” Turco said. “But I still have confidence in my ability to stop the puck. I’m feeling good, moving well and seeing it.”
Bowman said Turco’s ability as a puck-handler makes him an upgrade over Niemi in that phase of the game.
“We haven’t had that in Chicago for a while,” he said. “Our top four defensemen all handle the puck well, too. If we can get it to our forwards a second or two quicker, we’re a better team.”
Bowman also sees Turco as a mentor to Crawford.
“Corey has a bright future, but the experience factor is something we looked at. Playing goalie in this league is not an easy job. It’s important to have someone who understands the ups-and-downs, and it’s better for Corey to work his way into it.”
Bowman indicated that the team he has assembled is the team that will take the ice to defend the Stanley Cup.
“We’d like to add a defenseman, but we’re through with wholesale changes,” he said. “We’re happy with the team we’ve got.”