Sharks Sign Antti Niemi to Four-Year Extension

The San Jose Sharks announced today that they have signed goaltender Antti Niemi to a four-year contract worth $15.2 million. The deal averages out to $3.8 million per season. He would have been an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Sharks signed the 27-year-old netminder to a one-year deal last summer after the Chicago Blackhawks walked away from an arbitrator-decided one-year, $2.75 million contract because of salary cap reasons, which made him an unrestricted free agent free to sign with any team. In 42 games so far this season, he has a 23-15-3 record, five shutouts, a 2.44 GAA, and a .919 save percentage. This is a good signing for the Sharks, as Niemi's play has improved greatly over the past couple of months after struggling early on in the season. He has good size, can cover a lot of the net, and has lots of experience in goal from his days of playing in Europe. He can be a bit inconsistent from time to time, but he is still a solid netminder and a great playoff goalie.