Quote:
Originally Posted by thefoss1957
It was a matter of timing...both Niemi and Hjarlmasson had gotten offer sheets, it was clear that the 'Hawks could only match one of the two...they apparently decided that the drop-off from Hjammer, to whomever they would have to replace him with was higher than the drop-off from Niemi to other affordable goaltenders, at that time.
I thought then, that the D-man was the correct choice. (although all would have been moot, if Tallon had checked the correct boxes when submitting contracts to the league on some other players!). Hjammer, has been the best Stay at Home D man on the squad, and gets the matchup with opponent top lines. Keith and Seabrook get press, Hjammer and his Partners do the heavy Defensive Lifting, and the goaltender in the system gets the benefit.
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I don't think Niemi got an offer sheet, he went to arbitration and the Hawks walked away from it @ 2.75 million. They did match the offer sheet to Hjarlmasson from the Sharks, but should have let him walk IMO and kept Big Buff who was making around the same I think, and was a big part of their first cup run. He had already been traded by that point though.