:: ANTTI NIEMI IS ANTIMATTER ::

If you haven’t heard yet, Antti Niemi was rewarded with a $2,750,000 salary for the 2010-11 season. The Chicago Blackhawks now have 48 hours to accept or decline the offer…and the clock is ticking.

Although this idea has been growing in the back of my mind for a year, now more than ever before, I can’t help but see how Niemi has the same exact properties of Antimatter. Yes, Antti reminds me of Antimatter.

Think about it. He’s a scary invisible force that acts as the complete molecular opposite of everything we see and know about goaltending at the NHL level.

He follows the exact same equipment rules, has the same exact mission and plays on the same exact ice as everyone else. But the way he looked, the way he moved and made saves and reacted to many plays last season was the complete and polar opposite of everyone else.

Lurking in the shadows of existence, he thrived in a different manner, on a different level and basically in another dimension. And just like antimatter, he’s a million times more volatile and powerful. And he has one of the particle rings to prove it – a 2010 Stanley Cup ring.

Thus the endless search by NHL teams to not only procure a piece of their own Antti, but learn how to use it and capture it’s essence and holster the power within. Antimatter does exist, but it’s extremely rare and unless you know exactly how to handle, treat and contain it, the results could be total disaster and devastation.

Is it me, or does Niemi posses a lot of those same characteristics?

It’s not a coincidence. It’s simple chemistry and science. In this universe, goalies are nothing more than creatures that abide by the same rules seen in the middle of the Congo, in the deep chasms of space or way down low in the uncharted territories of the atoms and quarks.

As of this moment in time, Niemi is being treated in the same manner. He’s a rare element floating in uncharted territory. No team has ever been down this path before. He’s not only the first Finnish goalie to win a Stanley Cup, he was a rookie and he went straight to salary arbitration. This is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

I’ve stated a few times on podcasts and Twitter that the Blackhawks and Niemi are a team within a team. Together they rise, but divided they most likely fall. Lightning would have to strike twice for them to have the same success as last season with a different goaltender(s).

Sorry for the duel cliches, but I just can’t help but think that Chicago needs to accept the offer. They can reportedly afford it by making other small moves between the time they accept and the start of the season. So if it’s doable, and it keeps the goalie universe from imploding or destroying us all, let’s take care of business and accept the salary, please.

Honestly I have no real insight as to whether or not Chicago will accept the ruling. I don’t have sources on the team and I don’t have a degree in economics. But I do know plenty about the world of goaltending chemistry and physics. I ask the questions and answer what only time can prove:

How would Niemi play on another team like Edmonton, Philadelphia or Nashville? How would he interact with his new goalie coach. How much of an impact would it have on his ability to shake off the stress of a possible sophomore jinx? And every answer I come up with ends with me saying, “…not as good as in Chicago.”

This doesn’t mean that I think Niemi is any worse of a goalie. But the question must be asked of what the opposing shooters have learned about him. Sometimes when a goalie is thrust into the spotlight by playing well, they are also thrust under a microscope and the following season is met with much less success. Just ask Steve Mason what he thinks about that.

In conclusion, Chicago and Niemi fit perfectly for each other in a synchromatic and systematic way. Antti is their anti-matter and with him leading the team they can repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.

But if they are separated by the result of this elemental exchange known as a salary arbitration hearing, there’s a very high chance that things will never work the same ever again. Niemi stands on hollow ground. It could give way at any moment in time.

It worked last year, almost to perfection. And any goalie scientist will tell you that messing with it could result in very unstable conditions for both sides. Wether on purpose or not, arbitration has already had a major impact on both sides. Let’s just hope it doesn’t have negative results.