NHL: Is Roberto Luongo Worth the Money?
August 1st, 2010 by Joseph Tung Leave a reply »Today, we learned that G Antti Niemi of the Stanley Cup Winning Chicago Blackhawks has been rewarded $2.75 million for his efforts in the NHL playoffs, as well as half a season as starting goalie of the Blackhawks.
An arbitrator ruled him as a potent goalie with a shot as a No. 1 goalie for a hockey club, and Stan Bowman, GM of Chicago, certainly has issues with that ruling. The Hawks have run into more and more salary cap issues, and it certainly got worse when Jonathan Toews received his bonus in the Cup Finals,and when the San Jose Sharks gave a $3.5 million offer sheet to Niklas Hjalmarsson.
They did not intend on paying their 5th or 6th defenseman that type of figure, but they didn't want to lose him either. Doug Wilson made him pay.
Now, the question is, with Antti Niemi unable to sign with the Blackhawks due to cap restrictions after winning the Stanley Cup, I wonder how much a top-dollar goalie such as Roberto Luongo is really worth.
Luongo was paid $6.75 million a year by the Canucks and yet, he was outplayed by Niemi, who was on a petite $827,000 deal. Certainly worth a thought. That salary freedom gave the Hawk ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Joseph Tung
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