Dallas Stars sign goalie Niemi

A day away from the opening of free agency in the NHL, the Dallas Stars signed goaltender Antti Niemi to a three-year contract for a reported $13.5 million Monday.

Dallas traded a seventh-round draft pick for negotiating rights with Niemi on Saturday, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday.

Niemi joins last year’s starter Kari Lehtonen in a system that will be more like a rotation than traditional starter and back-up roles.

“I think it’s a great chance to play with one of the upcoming teams who has lots of talent. I think it’s going to be great to be able to work with Kari and I think we can both get a bunch out of that,” Niemi said.

Stars’ general manager Jim Nill said Niemi was the top unrestricted free agent goaltender on their list. After going through every possible option to supplement Dallas’ goaltending corps, it always came back to the 31-year-old Finnish native.

Before the deal was made, Nill said he spoke with Lehtonen and Niemi about the new goaltending strategy and both were on board.

“They’re both excited,” Nill said. “The end game is that we want to win. They’re excited that this gives us another chance to win and that’s what we’re here for.”

The pitch to Lehtonen was that of support, something he hasn’t had in the past few seasons. Last year, the fellow Finn played in 65 games, placing him sixth in the league. Lehtonen and Niemi sat in the top 10 in shots faced last year.

Both also have a history, rooming together with Team Finland in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. Niemi said during that experience the two learned they grew up close to each other in Finland.

With 12 sets of back-to-backs games and 17 games on the road, a two-goalie system became an easy pick for Nill.

“This gives us the opportunity that, if someone is banged up a little bit, we have a chance to rest them,” Nill said. “Back-to-back, we know we have a rested and healthy goalie going in.”

More rest is something Niemi could get behind.

“I think it’s a challenge,” Niemi said of the system. “I think it also gives [us] a chance to work with the goalie coach and let your body recover. I think there’s two sides, but I think the NHL has a lot of games so I think there’s room for two guys playing a lot.”

The move will allow Dallas’ top goaltending prospect, Jack Campbell, to spend another year with the Stars’ AHL affiliate in Cedar Park, the Texas Stars, to simply play more games. He could be called up as a backup if one of Dallas’ top two net minders suffers an injury.

With the goalie situation settled, it could be a quiet first day of free agency for the Stars, which will be different from Nill’s first two years at the helm of the organization.

Nill said there aren’t any options that make sense for the team to jump in early, but pieces could be added closer to training camp in the fall.

It will be the first year that Dallas’ key pieces, namely Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza, will enter a season with a year’s experience together.

“There’s been a lot changes in the last two years and we like where it’s headed. I think we have to let some of it settle in,” Nill said.

This story was originally published June 29, 2015 at 9:36 PM with the headline "Dallas Stars sign goalie Niemi."