Filed under: Blackhawks, NHL Free Agency, NHL EconomicsThe Blackhawks will find out on Saturday what kind of salary bump that goaltender Antti Niemi (right) will be awarded, but after Niemi's arbitration hearing on Thursday, Chicago general manager Stan Bowman said that the team is planning for all sorts of scenarios.
"I wouldn't be doing my job if we weren't," Bowman said of potentially moving on from the goalie who led the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years.
The NHL arbitration is unlike some sports in that the arbitrator does not have to choose one side's number or the other's. Otherwise, the Blackhawks already would have a good idea what they're looking at and they'd know whether they could afford Niemi if they lose the decision. Bowman explained that any number may be awarded between the two numbers.
After Saturday's ruling, Bowman said, the Blackhawks will have 48 hours to accept the awarded salary figure, trade the award number, or just let Niemi go entirely as a free agent, which might not be to Niemi's benefit, considering the glut of goalies this offseason.
There have been numerous estimates about how much the salary-cap challenged Blackhawks might be able to afford for Niemi, and it's largely considered that if he gets much more than double his $800,000 salary of last year, things might get tricky for Chicago, especially after Bowman said last week that Patrick Sharp is definitely staying. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Commentscruiser bikes
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