Sharks leaning away from Niemi these days
Struggling San Jose goalie Antti Niemi was on the bench for the third straight game Tuesday night at Minnesota, but Sharks coach Todd McLellan says it's too early to formally name Antero Niittymaki his No. 1 guy.
“Right now it's who we feel comfortable with on that given day,” McLellan told the San Jose Mercury News. “Niitty, let's face facts, has been better than Antti has, so we lean that way a little now.”
Niemi, who helped lead the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup before being allowed leave as a free agent when the Hawks walked away from his arbitration win, is 1-3 with a 4.49 goals-against average and .854 save percentage.
“It's happened for every goalie,” Niemi said. “For sure the whole team can play better, but I think you've got to play good games and make big saves to help the team win, so it goes both ways.”
Hawks general manager Stan Bowman gave the politically correct answer when asked in New York on Monday if he felt he made the right decision letting Niemi walk and signing Marty Turco as a free agent.
“I'm more focused on the guys we have now,” Bowman said. “Obviously we're very happy with the way Marty is playing, but it's not a surprise to any of us.
“I haven't watched (Niemi's) games close enough. It could have been bad breaks. It's unfair to say it's just him.”
Seabrook's turn:
Stan Bowman said talks with defenseman Brent Seabrook's agent about a new contract are ongoing and that he would prefer to get it done sooner than later.
Signing Seabrook, who would be a restricted free agent, should be a priority for the Hawks considering he is the only true physical presence they have on the blue line and on many nights their only physical presence, period.
Duncan Keith, who is in the first season of a 13-year contract, has a cap hit of $5.53 million, so Seabrook likely deserves to be slotted in the $5 million a year range.
Seabrook, who is making $3.5 million this season, most definitely is part of the Hawks' important core group.
“He's been a key player here for a while,” Bowman said. “We've made a commitment to keep core guys together, and we'd like to try and do that with him.”
Get ready for another off-season of salary-cap issues for the Hawks, who have $42.37 million committed in salaries for 2011-12 to only 10 players.
Seabrook, Troy Brouwer, Viktor Stalberg, Jack Skille, Jake Dowell and Corey Crawford all are restricted free agents.
The unrestricted free agents are Marty Turco, Tomas Kopecky, Fernando Pisani, Ryan Potulny, Jordan Hendry, Nick Boynton and Jassen Cullimore.
Devil of at time:
The New Jersey Devils come to the United Center on Wednesday night with a record of 3-9-1 and without injured regulars Zach Parise, Anton Volchenkov and Brian Rolston.
Ilya Kovalchuk has only 3 goals and 33 shots in 11 games. The Devils haven't missed the playoffs since 1996, but it's a real possibility they could.
“We're digging ourselves a huge hole,” center Jason Arnott told the Newark Star-Ledger. “If we don't turn this around it's going to be really hard (to make the playoffs).”
Just a thought:
Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland has suggested to the league an eight-minute overtime period that starts with four minutes of 4-on-4 play followed by four minutes of 3-on-3.
This might cut down on the number of games decided in a shootout, although NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told members of the Chicago media at his Manhattan office Monday that league research shows fans like the shootout.
“Some people don't like the shootout, but the approval rating for shootouts is over 70 percent,” Bettman said. “Our fans tell us that they'd rather have that than a game end in a tie.”
Ex-Hawk factor
Dustin Byfuglien is at it again.
Of Byfuglien's 4 goals with Atlanta, 3 are game-winners.
Byfuglien is playing defense full time for the Thrashers and has 10 points. The Hawks will get a firsthand look at their former teammate Saturday at Philips Arena.