It turns out that Antti Niemi never changed the world.
In 2010, the 26-year-old Finnish import played 39 games in the regular season and then 22 in the postseason, where he went 16-6 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average as the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. He made $827,000 against the salary cap, much less than Cristobal Huet ($5.625 million) and Nikolai Khabibulin ($6.750 million), the two veteran goalies he rendered obsolete.
That he beat Michael Leighton of the Philadelphia Flyers -- who made $600,000 -- in the Stanley Cup Final made some around the league openly question whether investment in the goaltending position was really worth it.