Stars ink recently acquired Niemi to 3-year deal
Frisco, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - The Dallas Stars on Monday signed Antti Niemi to a three-year contract, two days after acquiring the Finnish goaltender's rights in a trade with the San Jose Sharks.
The Stars gave the Sharks a pick in the seventh round of Saturday's draft for the rights to Niemi, who could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
"We acquired Antti's rights with the expectation to get him signed and we're thrilled to have come to an agreement this quickly," said Stars general manager Jim Nill. "This gives us two upper-echelon goaltenders and the quality of depth at that position will provide us a great chance to win on a nightly basis."
The 31-year-old Niemi has a 190-100-40 record with a 2.39 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in 338 career games for Chicago and San Jose.
He was 31-23-7 with a 2.59 GAA and a .914 save percentage last season.
Niemi backstopped the Blackhawks to the 2010 Stanley Cup title in his first full season in the NHL, but he became a UFA in the summer when the Blackhawks walked away from his arbitration award and signed with the Sharks.