Chicago Blackhawks: Remembering Antti Niemi’s heroics
The Chicago Blackhawks had some heroes step up in 2010 and none were more important than that of Antti Niemi in the goal crease.
The most important season in the modern history of the Chicago Blackhawks was in 2010. They took all of their great players that they drafted from 2003-2007 and built around them and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 49 years. It was an incredible championship drought broken for them as they finally got it done. One major factor in that was the play of goaltender Antti Niemi. He was a hero by the end of the playoffs and Stanley Cup Final.
Niemi signed with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2008 as an undrafted free agent. He was assigned to the Rockford Ice Hogs where he spent the 2008-09 season splitting starts with Corey Crawford. By the time the 2009-10 season started, he was splitting time with Cristobal Huet at the NHL level. He beat out Huet for the starting goalie spot in those 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Well, Niemi really took off and led Chicago all the way to their first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years. He was brilliant all playoffs long. Niemi went 16-6 in the playoffs to lead them to that championship. He became the first Finnish goalie to ever win the Stanley Cup. A lot of his saves seemed to be of the high danger variety which earned him the reputation of a clutch goaltender. Things weren’t perfect for him in his Blackhawks career but he got the job done when it mattered most.
Well, after winning the Stanley Cup in 2010, Niemi filed for arbitration. The arbitrator awarded him 2.75 million and the Chicago Blackhawks ultimately walked away. Now after a few years with the team, he moved on to the San Jose Sharks. Niemi was one of the league’s top goalies with the Sharks for five seasons. He was even the third-place finisher in the Vezina Trophy race for his stellar play in the 2013 season.
Read. Patrick Sharp was a great piece to the Blackhawks' championship team. light
After his time with San Jose, things started to fall off for Niemi. He was a member of the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, and Montreal Canadiens in different roles after that. He was okay at times but ultimately not as good as his years in Chicago and San Jose. After Niemi’s departure in Chicago, Corey Crawford stepped in and was even better but nobody will ever forget how good Niemi was in that run to the Stanley Cup.