Goaltending Concerns in the Tank

The San Jose Sharks want to make a big push in the 2012 season, but they might have a slight case of the hiccups at the beginning of the season, as there are some concerns stemming from the team's crease in this preseason.

During the off-season, Antti Niemi underwent surgery to remove a cyst in an undisclosed part of his body and he hasn't been able to start skating again until this week.  Since there is a lot of secrecy around the injury/surgery, there is also a lot of speculation and fear that he may not be ready to start the regular season as the number one guy.  On the flip side of the coin, the lack of updates could also mean an air of confidence among the team's trainers that he will be ready to go for opening night, but at the very least, this is something to keep an eye on.

To make matters worse, the team's back-up last season and projected back-up for this season, Antero Niittymaki, underwent hip surgery to help relieve some pain that he has been suffering over the off-season.  The announcement says that Niittymaki will be out of commission for the next 10-to-12 weeks, putting a major dent in his season.  This would schedule his return around the middle of December.

I didn't have Niittymaki's projections up too high for the season, expecting that Niemi would be taking the bulk of the work, but I will still cut my projection in half for the back-up, now giving him 10 points for the 2012 season.

The lost points from Niittymaki go now to the leader of the pack in terms of goalies in the list, Thomas Greiss, who has been already taking most of the minutes in this preseason, due to all these injuries.  Stay tuned for more news on Niemi, any games lost going forward for Niemi and Greiss will likely pick up some more points.