Team Finland: Picking Olympic Starting Goalie Is Going to Be a Tough Decision

With the Olympic Games in Vancouver now only weeks away, national teams are starting to take an even closer look at their roster selections in the NHL.

For Team Finland, the recent rash of injuries to players such as Teemu Selanne, Jere Lehtinen, Saku Koivu, and Tuomo Ruutu were certainly giving GM Jari Kurri fits of anxiety as injuries immediately get one thinking of alternative selections.

Luckily, all these players (with the possible exception of Selanne) should be healthy by the time the puck drops in Vancouver.

However, even if Kurri were forced to scramble to replace Finnish legends like Selanne and Koivu, the task would likely be easier than deciding who his starting net-minder should be.

With the possible exception of the US, every national team has basically established who their No. 1 goalie will be.

The Finns have selected three NHL goalies for the national team—Miikka Kiprusoff (Calgary Flames), Niklas Backstrom ( Minnesota Wild), and Antero Niittymaki (Tampa Bay Lightning).

The obvious choice for the top spot in the minds of many is Miikka Kiprusoff.

While on the surface Finland's decision may appear clear, looking a little deeper into the situation reveals it's anything but.

A well established star, Stanley Cup Finalist, and Vezina Trophy winner, Kiprusoff may very well provide Finland with the best shot at capturing Olympic Gold for the first time in his team's history.

After all, his message to Kurri in November was clear—don't select me, unless I'm the starter.

But considering Kipper's history, or lack thereof, with the team, throwing down such a gauntlet seemed a little unwarranted.

In 2002, Kiprusoff (then with the Sharks) was selected to the Finnish National Team to represent his country in Salt Lake.

Though still a backup to Shark's goalie Evgeni Nabokov at the time, Kiprusoff declined the invitation, stating that he felt he needed to devote his full attention to his NHL career.

Four years later, during what would be the goalie's Vezina winning season, Kiprusoff was again selected to the national team, this time, as the clear cut stater in net.

He declined again.

Stating that he felt he needed to fully recover from a hip injury during the NHL break, Kiprusoff's decision rubbed some of his countrymen the wrong way.

Teemu Selanne commented that he found it odd that Kiprusoff would use his apparent injury as a reason to not participate in the games, as it had not sidelined him a single game with the Flames.  The implication being that perhaps Kiprusoff wasn't injured at all.

Despite his past decisions regarding his national team and the implications thereof, Kiprusoff's desire to start for the team this year is obvious.

However, Kiprusoff starting means that Antero Niittymaki will be sitting on the bench; that decision could prove disastrous for Team Finland.

Of all three goaltenders, Niittymaki is the only proven winner at the Olympic level.

After Kiprusoff declined his invitation and fellow invitee, Tharsher's goalie Kari Lehtonen, went down to injury, Niittymaki suddenly went from after-thought, to starting goalie.

With Fredrik Norrena as his backup, Niittymaki rounded out what was an unproven and even suspect goaltending tandem for the Finns.

This turned out to be anything but the case.

Niittymaki's play was nothing short of remarkable.  He recorded three shutouts in six games and finished with a minuscule 1.69 GAA. 

His performance in goal propelled his team all the way to the gold medal round, which they lost to arch-rival Sweden 3-2.

Niittymaki was named the tournament's MVP, his play being both outstanding and highly unexpected given his total inexperience at that level of competition.

Niittymaki has recently assumed the top job in net in Tampa Bay as goalie Mike Smith has been sidelined with a neck injury.

In his last 10 starts, Niittymaki has averaged a .910 GAA and 2.68 save percentage, not exactly stellar numbers. However, his history with Team Finland and being the reigning MVP of the Winter Games will make passing him over a very tough and possibly regrettable decision.

That leaves Niklas Backstrom.

Though named to the Finnish Team in 2006, the Helsinki native was not yet an NHL player and did not dress for the entire tournament.

The following year he was Minnesota's backup keeper to the starter, Manny Fernandez.  Halfway through the season, Fernandez suffered a knee injury and Backstrom assumed the starting role.

Backstrom was phenomenal in goal, posting five shutouts in 36 games and finishing as the league's top goalie in GAA and save percentage.

The following season, with Fernandez having been traded to Boston, Backstrom was Minnesota's undisputed starter and helped get his team back to the playoffs.

After signing a four-year, $24 million deal last March, Backstrom finished the 2008-09 season as the second-runner up for the Vezina Trophy.

Clearly, Backstrom deserves consideration for starting duties.  However, his relative inexperience compared to his two fellow net-minders likely means he's destined for backup duties.

Nevertheless, the three choices in goal for Team Finland present an unenviable task for Jari Kurri and head coach Jukka Jalonen. 

They will either have to give the top job to a man who's demanded it, by denying a player who's earned it or a goalie who's deserving of it, or go with the proven winner and risk the desertion of perhaps their best option.

Best of luck gentlemen.