San Jose Sharks Trade Rumors: Antti Niemi to be Traded?

Reports have surfaced recently that the San Jose Sharks would consider trading goalie Antti Niemi before the March 2nd trade deadline. The 31-year old former Stanley Cup winner is a free agent at the end of the season so it’s tough to imagine that the return for him would be significant at this point.

It may seem a bit radical for the Sharks to consider moving Niemi as they are currently in a playoff spot heading into action Wednesday night. But, while they own the second wild card position and are only two points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings and three points ahead of the Minnesota Wild, both teams have three games in hand on the Sharks and are heading in different directions. The Sharks have won only three of their last ten while the Kings are currently on a five-game winning streak and the Wild have won eight of ten.

More from Rumors

The real flag here is it looks like for the first time in what seems like ages, the Sharks don’t consider themselves true title contenders and are eyeing the future. Niemi, while still capable, has seen his save percentage drop and goals against average rise and is on pace for his worst statistics in those categories since his first full season in the league. However, it looks like the Sharks are ready to turn the page on Antti Niemi and see what Alex Stalock and Troy Grosenick can do with the full time job.

The big issue the Sharks will have trying to deal Antti Niemi before the deadline is the market for goalies appears to be thin. The Rangers have survived so far without Henrik Lundqvist behind Cam Talbot, and if Lundqvist doesn’t have any setbacks, should be back within the next few weeks. The Wild seem to have remedied their goalie woes, plus it would be a real head-scratcher if the Sharks turned around and helped out the team chasing them. As morbid as it sounds, the Sharks best chance of a decent return is if a playoff team loses their goalie over the next two weeks and has no where else to turn.

In this writer’s eyes it doesn’t make sense to deal Niemi now, even if he walks over the summer with no return. The likely return, a mid round draft pick or middling prospect, shouldn’t be enough for the team to forego its playoff chances. If the team had a proven backup they could turn to, then yes, it’d make some more sense. But Stalock has been underwhelming at best and Grosenick has two career games under his belt. The Sharks would be better served to stand pat with Niemi, go to battle with who they have, and see where they end up. The playoffs have become an ultimate “get in, get hot, get lucky” tournament recently so who’s to say the Sharks couldn’t make a run out of the wild card spot?

The other interesting item is that this change in team direction could also be a signal that the Sharks will start preparing soon for life after Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. The two mainstays have had wonderful careers with in San Jose, but unfortunately their tenures will be looked back upon as great regular season performers who couldn’t get it done when it mattered. Sure, they aren’t the sole reasons why the Sharks could never get over the hump, but it doesn’t matter: they were the two faces of a team that is synonymous with playoff failure.

If the Sharks were to ever seriously consider moving the pair, they would need to convince them to waive their no-movement clauses which is no guarantee. However if they see the writing on the wall and the team’s philosophy shift towards youth, the lure of playing for a cup contender may be too great to pass up, regardless of their roots in San Jose. It’s something to keep an eye on these next few weeks and could be a way for the Sharks to accelerate any potential rebuild they’ll need to go through.

For the time being though, it looks like after a solid five-year career with the Sharks that saw him arrive to town with some controversy, Antti Niemi will have a new home soon enough.

More from Puck Prose

Home/Rumors