Lightning Sign Goaltender Niittymaki to One-Year Contract

The Tampa Bay Lightning added some much needed goaltending depth to their team last Friday by signing Antero Niittymaki to a one-year contract worth $600,000. There had been rumors the Philadelphia Flyers were interested in retaining the Finnish netminder, but opted to go with a brand new tandem of Ray Emery and Brian Boucher. In 32 games last season with the Flyers, Niittymaki posted a 15-8-6 with a 2.76 GAA and a .912 save percentage. This is a decent move by the Lightning, as they were in desperate need of a proven backup goalie. Niittymaki played fairly well last season as the backup for the Flyers and even jumped into the starter’s role when Martin Biron struggled at times. Niittymaki will likely be the backup to Mike Smith next season as the Lightning see Smith as their number one goalie, but the team could also opt to have both goalies share both the starting and backup duties.