Blackhawks Walk Away From Antti Niemi, Ink Marty Turco To One-Year Deal

It’s been announced that the Chicago Blackhawks and General Manager Stan Bowman have decided to cut ties with Stanley Cup winning net-minder Antti Niemi, and have signed ex-Star Marty Turco to a one-year deal.

Niemi will always be revered in the hearts of Blackhawk fans for helping end the organization’s 49-year Cup drought, but greed on his part has ruined what could have been a very bright future in Chicago.

Niemi and his agent, public enemy number one in Chicago, Bill Zito, failed to realize Niemi’s success this past season was due to him being a product of his environment. He has played in just 64 NHL games, posting above average stats in that span. Numbers that do not warrant a contract in the $3-4 million range, as he has demanded.

To replace Niemi, the Hawks have signed Marty Turco to a one-year deal reportedly worth somewhere in the $1-1.5 million range. The signing of Turco is a much more cap-friendly maneuver for the organization.

Turco has posted a 2.31 GAA and a .911 save percentage over his nine years in the NHL. Numbers comparable to Niemi’s, and Niemi had a much better supporting cast for his games than Turco had for parts of his tenure in the league.

Turco is a proven winner. He led the Stars to the conference finals in 07-08, and helped them qualify for the post-season on four other occasions. He was a member of Canada’s 2006 Olympic team, and has been named to the All-Star team on three occasions.

He will be a viable one-year stop-gap solution for the Hawks in net, before likely turning the keys over to either Corey Crawford or Hannu Toivonen.

Stan Bowman has felt plenty of heat from fans due to the off-season stripping down of a third of the championship roster, but the blame for Niemi’s departure rests solely on the shoulders of Niemi and Zito.

Time will tell just how much of Niemi’s success was due to his surroundings, as Turco will soon reap the benefits of having one of the league’s most talented teams skating in front of him.

Check this article out on sportshaze.com as well!