Sharks Sign Niittymaki

I would hate to say that the Sharks have found their starting goalie with Antero Niittymaki, but right now that looks to be the case. Niittymaki signed a 2-year deal worth $4 million (a $2 million cap hit per year) on July 1st, taking the number one job, in theory, at the moment. If this is the case, this could be a huge boost to Niittymaki's fantasy value, as the Sharks do make good in the regular season with good scoring, which should translate into some wins for a solid goalie like Niittymaki.  At a reasonable cap hit like $2 million, the Sharks could concentrate some more of their funds in other positions, giving them the depth they need to get out of the Western Conference and into the Stanley Cup Finals.

With the Lightning in 2010, Niittymaki had a 21-18-5 record in 49 appearances, picking up 1 shutout and 1 assist, giving him 45 pool points.  Those 45 points were good enough to rank Niittymaki 27th among goalies in the league and that number has some serious potential to lift into the top 15, if he stays there in the number one position.

With this signing, the Sharks now have 15 players on their team table at an annual salary cap hit of $50.8 million, giving them quite a bit of room to upgrade some of their other positions, which is the name of the game during free agency. Since they are not spending much money here, I would suggest that they would still be players for some big deals to come in the coming hours/days.

This is the kind of deal that gives a veteran goaltender his dues, at this point in time. Niittymaki has been a bubble starting goalie in the league for a while and has seen a lot of starts in the past. Now tht the Sharks are moving in a new direction in net, this could very well be his time to shine. Buy in to Niittymaki if you have the chance.