Yesterday, I noticed an article posted on a friend's Facebook page about the great Antti Niemi and chose to take a casual poke at his "wise" decision. Shortly thereafter things got interesting as a "fan", chimed in with some "facts". This is some grade A ownage and word for word:
This is the article:
Source: Niemi could make decision soon
My Friend: Yup lmao
Coulda had both security and be on a contender if he wasn't greedy.
Casual Fan: Don't be haters just because he exercised the options that were given him. He did a terrific job for the Blackhawks last season and that shouldn't be forgotten. He stepped up when Huet wasn't doing all that well.
Me: Exercised the option to be someone elses backup plan. Sure, sounds like a great career move.
Casual Fan: He exercised the option of going to arbitration in a contract year just like any other NHL player would. This has nothing to do with greed. Name me any other starting goalie in the NHL that's making $400,000. The Hawks chose not to pick up what the arbitrator awarded him. It was the team's choice, not Niemi's
My Friend: Hawks didn't have the cap room,
Me: First of all the league minimum is higher than $400k. A real team player would have at least signed a one year deal for a reasonable amount. His stupid agent made him believe he could get more than he could from the Hawks. No goalie with 60 career games, that couldn't win the starting job until the other dope shit the bed, deserves that money. Turco turned down a much bigger payday for the honor of playing for the hawks. That deserves respect and support.
Casual Fan: Check your sources Jeff. He was making $400,000 (WRONG) last year. I write for a newspaper and that is what my sports department tells me, so I trust them. If you want more proof, I'll get it for you. As for the "team players" you cite, they are a rarity. So he is supposed to turn down almost ten times (WRONG) what he made last year for the sake of being a team player? I'm not sure anyone would do that. Turco has the luxury because he's had a long career. And Niemi's stupid agent was right for telling him to go to arbitration. Tell me anyone who is going to turn down a $3.4 million payday (WRONG) to play again for a fraction of that and that person is business stupid.
Casual Fan: Any sane person is going to take the money because there is no guarantee that something like that is ever going to come along again, especially with the threat of career ending injuries.
And because I LOVE being right, I must step in.
According to the CBA on the OFFICIAL NHL WEBSITE the minimum salary for a rostered NHL player last season is $500K. So, I find your sources wrong, because you cannot pay a player UNDER the league minimum. I checked my source, feel free:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26366
http://www.capgeek.com/players/display.php?id=269
Capgeek says $826,875
http://wbbm.cbslocal.com/2010/08/02/blackhawks-sign-veteran-goalie-marty-turco/
and I quote, "after earning $826,875 as a rookie"
http://www.nhlsnipers.com/antti-niemi-and-the-blackhawks-headed-to-arbitration/
"the $800,000 he reportedly made last season"
And no not everyone is a money hungry douche bag. Marty Turco turned down at least triple the money with Philly for a chance to play in Chicago. Niemi's agent advised him wrong. It was a terribly WEAK goalie market and he thought he could BS the Hawks into overpaying. He bluffed and now he will suffer. He would have gotten a HANDSOME raise from the past year, but he wanted to squeeze that extra dollar out.
Me: I suppose CBS,ESPN, FOX, and the national post are wrong as well:
http://nationalpost.stats.com/nhl/playerstats.asp?id=4432
"after earning $826,875 as a rookie"
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/sports/nhl/blackhawks/niemi-antti-blackhawks-goalie-dropped-marty-turco-goalie-20100802
"after earning $826,875 as a rookie"
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/news/story?id=5426100
"Niemi earned $826,875 last season as a rookie"
http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/players/playerpage/1639712/antti-niemi
"after earning $826,875 as a rookie"
Casual Fan: Did you break down the salary into base plus incentives? Regardless of whether my sources are wrong, the guy has a chance to make far more than he made last year. And you're going to fault him for that? So if you're in the same situation, you'll turn down the money for the sake of being a team player, not knowing how long your career is going to last?
Me: He had standard player contract with no player incentives. He was a minor league goalie (that couldn't win the outright starting job on his minor league team) with one year of North American hockey experience when that contract was negotiated. He could have accepted nearly triple his previous salary with a manageable cap number, knowing full well the team could not afford to overpay for anyone. There was no reason to go to arbitration because the team was offering around $2 million a year. He's still jobless for a reason, and it's not because there is a fierce bidding war for him.
And for the record, I've never knocked his contribution to the team. He was a PART of the team, but nothing close to the major reason they won. Clearly, Huet would have handed that starting job to anyone, because not once did Niemi "win" the job. He was given it by default.
