You may not have been aware, but Antero Niittymaki is healthy and ready to play hockey again for the Sharks.
The problem is that Antti Niemi is locked in as the starter and Thomas Greiss has made the backup job his own thus freezing out Niittymaki from getting a chance to play. David Pollak of the Mercury News hears it from Niittymaki about being healthy enough to play and unable to see any action.
“I don’t think it makes sense to anybody to have me as the third guy here. They know it, I know it,” said Niittymaki, who was activated Dec. 23 and has yet to dress even as a backup in any of the nine games since then. “We have to try and figure it out.”
Niittymaki says it’s boring having to spend nights in the press box as a healthy scratch and who can blame him? Niittymaki at this point in his career and coming off an injury is a backup goalie at best and teams that could use a little extra in goal might not be willing to swing a deal for him. Sharks GM Doug Wilson doesn’t have an easy job in figuring out what to do here.
For what it’s worth, Niittymaki is in the final year of his contract that has a $2 million cap hit. If there’s a team willing to take him on, he’s very affordable.