FT. LAUDERDALE – Antti Niemi’s run as the Sharks’ starting goaltender is officially over.
The 31-year-old rights were traded to Dallas on Saturday at the NHL draft, in exchange for a 7th round pick later in the day (193rd overall). Niemi is a pending unrestricted free agent.
The Stars will apparently try to extend Niemi’s deal. General manager Jim Nill said: “Antti is a proven goaltender who has played and succeeded at the highest levels. He’s one of the hardest working goalies out there and we look forward to working towards and agreement.”
In five seasons with the Sharks, Niemi was 163-92-35 with a 2.