Hawks' goalie picture could be much clearer today

To say the Blackhawks' goaltending situation is uncertain would be the understatement of the off-season.

Perhaps the picture becomes clearer today when the Hawks decide either to accept Antti Niemi's $2.75 million arbitration award or go in a different direction - possibly turning to veteran free agent Marty Turco, or even Corey Crawford.

Hawks general manager Stan Bowman said Sunday to fans attending his panel discussion at the convention that he would wait until Monday to formally announce if the team is keeping Niemi. Bowman spent Sunday in meetings with his staff discussing the goalie.

"I don't know if there's one specific point to get across," the GM said. "It's just that there are options, more than anything.

"There are always options in every decision. You have to weigh what it would take, what it would do to your team in terms of flexibility-wise if you decide to keep him, if maybe you have to move somebody else along, or if you have to make a decision to go in another direction."

Niemi was awarded a one-year contract worth $2.75 million by an arbitrator Saturday.

Squeezing the $2.75 million under the NHL's $59.4 million salary cap would be the tightest of fits for the Hawks, who then could be looking at filling the bottom nine spots on the roster with players earning $900,000 or less.

"There are pluses and minuses to both of those strategies," Bowman said, referring to accepting the Niemi decision or leaving it. "There's no one right way to do it, but we're going to all think about it and we'll come up with the right decision.

"I've tried to say this all along. You know, one guy does not make a team here. We've got a lot of great players and we're going to be ready come October to defend the Cup and we're going to work on making sure we get it right."

The Turco rumors to the Hawks intensified Sunday when the soon-to-be-35-year-old former Dallas Stars goalie told CSNPhilly.com he was not signing with the Flyers.

The Hawks would be comfortably under the cap if they could sign Turco for a cap hit of $2 million or less.

Turco was 22-20-11 in Dallas last season with a 2.72 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. He appeared in 53 regular-season games compared to 39 for Niemi, who had a comparable .912 save percentage but a better goals-against average at 2.25.

Turco did lose 11 more games in overtime or shootouts and has a spotty playoff record, while Niemi helped lead the Hawks to the Stanley Cup.

As for Crawford, the former second-round draft pick who has spent the last five seasons in the minors waiting for a chance, he got a big show of support from Bowman on Sunday.

"It's really difficult for young goaltenders to just jump into the league, that's why we tried to really go slow with Corey," Bowman said. "He's spent a number of years developing in our system, and I think the time is now for him to get an opportunity to show us what he can do.

"He's a very technically sound player. He's a big guy. He takes up a lot of the net, and in today's game, the way these goalies play, you have to have the size to cover the net.

"I think it's really, it's time for us to give him a chance to show us what he can do. He's certainly had a chance to learn his craft in the minor leagues."

Crawford was invited to the weekend convention but had to attend a wedding.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville, answering questions from fans at the convention Sunday, offered no clues as to what might happen with Niemi.

"We'll see what happens and go forward," Quenneville said. "We'd like to keep him, but we still have some tough decisions to make."