Habs’ Niemi nominated for Masterton trophy
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, and no player on the Canadiens represents those ideals better than goaltender Antti Niemi.
The Montreal chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association announced Monday that Niemi is its nominee for the leaguewide award, which will be presented during the NHL Awards Show in June in Las Vegas.
The soft-spoken Niemi said he was honoured to be nominated and invoked the names of fellow Finns Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne, who “won the award after their battles. (The award) represents an attitude and not giving up in tough situations.”
Niemi was in tough situations earlier this season and was waived by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers. When the injury-riddled Canadiens picked him up in mid-November, he had an 0-4 record and a goals-against average north of 6.00.
TOUGH TIMES
“There were tough times. You’re never really sure of the future in this business,” Niemi said when asked whether he thought his career was over. “I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I decided to keep going, and if it’s going to happen, it will happen.”
Since joining the Canadiens, Niemi has posted a 6-4-4 record with a 2.25 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage. To put those numbers in perspective, only Carter Hutton (2.02) and Marc-André Fleury (2.17) have better GAA and Hutton leads the NHL in save percentage at .934.
“I go back to my own mindset and work hard day in and day out, and when I started playing better, I didn’t want to change that mindset,” Niemi said.
That work ethic wasn’t lost on head coach Claude Julien.
“He came in here from Day One and he’s been competitive,” Julien said. “I don’t know what happened before he got here, but right from the get-go, I don’t think I was disappointed with how he competed. If anything, he has gotten better along the way. It’s credit that has to go to him and to Steph, but what I liked about him from the start was his attitude and approach to the game. He’s a real pro.”
WORK ETHIC
Julien called Niemi’s work ethic contagious and said: “You talk about perseverance, he couldn’t have had a worst start and it’s pretty impressive the way he’s played lately.”
Steph is goaltending coach Stéphane Waite, who also served as Niemi’s mentor when he backstopped the Chicago Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup in 2010.
“It’s been great working with him again, just doing the small things every day,” Niemi said. “Doing things right and trying not to do too much or make it too difficult. Just to do the easy stuff better.”
Niemi said it was different changing teams in mid-season, but it was good to leave his struggles behind.
“In the beginning of the season, I maybe wasn’t getting the bounces and now I am getting some bounces,” he said.
At 34, Niemi isn’t looking too far into the future, but he does hope to play next season and he hopes to continue playing in Montreal, a city where he has come to feel at home.
With Carey Price beginning an eight-year deal worth $10.5 million a season and Charlie Lindgren signed to a one-way deal for three seasons, it’s unlikely he’ll stick around. But his play here all but guarantees that a team will come knocking when he becomes a free agent on July 1.
The Masterton award is named after Bill Masterton, the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of injuries suffered during a game. He was playing for the Minnesota North Stars when he fell and hit his head in a game on Jan. 15, 1968.