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The Chum Bucket: Niemi
Notes
And other points to ponder
3/2/11 - By Mike Lee
Some odds and ends that I
thought I'd touch on, because it's easier to compile a bunch of bullet points
than to expound on a well thought out piece on something that's been covered a
million times already. Hey, it's how I roll.
- I'll be the first to
admit that I was caught off guard by the length of Antti Niemi's brand new
contract. I thought GM Doug Wilson might have strong interest in bringing his
number one goaltender back for a one or two year deal, but four years just
didn't seem like it was in the cards.
- As for the deal itself, I
never got the impression that Niemi has felt like he's fit in here in San Jose.
Given the amount of money that he was offered, it's easy to see why he stayed,
but his body language is tough to gauge. He's not a flashy guy, just a yeoman
who does his job. I misread that as disinterest. I guess he's just a very
private person.
- I can't help but think what Evgeni Nabokov must have
been thinking when he heard about the Niemi deal?
- The longest home
stand of the season almost started on a sour note on Tuesday night. Pretty
typical after wrapping up such a long series of games on the road. Kind of hard
to criticize a let down after the team went 11-2-0 in February. That's white
hot!
- San Jose can win their season series with Detroit on Thursday
night at HP Pavilion. Problem is, no home team has won a game in this series
this season. San Jose took both games in Detroit and the Red Wings beat the
Sharks 5-3 in their only visit to the Tank this season. The Red Wings may be a
bit more motivated after coughing up a lead in Anaheim on Wednesday night and
eventually losing on a penalty shot in overtime.
- San Jose made a
couple of roster moves on Wednesday by placing both Scott Nichol and Kent
Huskins on injured reserve. The moves provide some relief in terms of finding a
place to put bodies.
- Dan Boyle skated on Wednesday but he's still
listed as day-to-day.
- Thinking good thoughts for former Sharks Shawn
Burr, and his battle against cancer. Checkout Mitch Albom's
blog post on Burr and his battle.
- If you thought those St Patricks Day and Valentine's
Day practice jerseys were hideous, I have a feeling the Mardi Gras jerseys that
are about to go to auction may take the cake.
- Worcester Sharks
assistant coach David Cunniff didn't exactly do the organization proud last
week. Checkout what he did in this week's
Hoser of the Week.
-
A final thought on the trade deadline. For those of you who are complaining
about the Sharks lack of activity, just look at the roster and compare it to
the team that stank it up in January. Adds: Ian White, Ben Eager, and Kyle
Wellwood. All of that for Derek Joslin, a 2nd and a 5th round draft pick.
Wilson locked up some grit, a decent forward and a solid defenseman who can
move the puck without forfeiting a 1st round pick.
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