topped the Chicago Blackhawks to a sweep of the Sharks in the Western Conference Finals.

"It's etched in my brain," Wilson said. Rather than possibly re-live that nightmare, he did the best thing he could think of -- he signed Niemi to a one-year contract Thursday.

Terms of the deal were not revealed, but multiple media reports have Niemi earning $2 million this season.

"We liked our goaltending yesterday and we like it even more today," Wilson said. "When a player like this comes available and wants to join your team, and you don't have to give up any assets … you have to make it happen. We're very pleased with our goaltending unit and we feel we've made ourselves a better hockey team."

Niemi joins fellow Finn Antero Niittymaki, who signed with the Sharks July 1, as a two-man combination in net, replacing long-time starter Evgeni Nabokov, who departed for Russia.

Niemi started his first full NHL season as Cristobal Huet's backup, but stole the starting spot and went 26-7-4 in 39 regular-season games. He was fourth in the League with a 2.25 goals-against average and third with seven shutouts. He was just as good in the playoffs, backstopping the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup since 1961 with a six-game series win against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Along the way, he allowed just seven goals on 136 shots as the Hawks swept the Sharks in the conference finals.

"We talked about it when the (conference finals) ended," Wilson said. "Niemi, (Dustin) Byfuglien and (Dave) Bolland were the three difference-makers in that series. He made some big saves at key times. Our staff is very well-aware of him."

Playing in San Jose left a strong impression on Niemi, which is one of the reasons he chose the Sharks.

"I thought it was awesome," Niemi said of the games he played at HP Pavilion. "The atmosphere was great. I think I had the best time there last time."

Niemi became available Aug. 2 when the Blackhawks walked away from the $2.75 million he won in arbitration, which made Niemi an unrestricted free agent. The Blackhawks signed Marty Turco to replace Niemi.

Niemi spent the last month considering his options, but eventually found the Sharks' offer to be the best choice.

"I thought for me it was really important to get to a really good team and a really good organization," Niemi said. "They really wanted me there, too. It wasn't too hard a decision after all."

In San Jose, Niemi will face a similar situation as the one he entered in Chicago, where he had to compete for playing time. Niemi said he doesn't know Niittymaki very well, but Wilson said he made sure Niittymaki was kept abreast of his pursuit of Niemi, as well as making sure Niemi knew he was keeping Niittymaki in the loop.

"I think this reveals their character," Wilson said. "They wanted to make sure each other was included in the process. That's very healthy and that impressed me by both goalies."

Wilson said it would be up to coach Todd McLellan to determine playing time, but said he was very happy with his team's goaltending situation, which also includes Thomas Greiss. Greiss, who has a one-way contract, had been pegged as Niittymaki's backup prior to the Niemi signing. Wilson said he also spoke to Greiss prior to signing Niemi.

"We're pretty open with our goals and that's to put the best team on the ice as possible," Wilson said. "That was shared with all parties involved."

Niemi will get his first look at his old team when the Blackhawks come to San Jose Nov. 24. They'll visit again Dec. 11, prior to the Sharks' two trips to Chicago -- Dec. 30 and March 14.

"I think it's going to be the most exciting games of the regular season next year," Niemi said. "It's going to be weird because I used to play for the Blackhawks, but I think I'm going to be extra thrilled for those games."

Wilson also is thrilled to no longer have to see Niemi wearing an opposing team's jersey.

"We like the combination of goaltending we have," he said. "Goaltending is a very important position. We've dedicated 'X' amount of dollars to it and we like the way it's built."

players really that dumb...

will wait and think more but odds around 1.75-1.80 for werder looks good to me.

of the land
surrounding the ground, took back control of his car park (the
club's car park for players, fans and staff) last week - and he's
not giving it back.

Last week security guards turned up at Fratton Park in a dawn raid
mission to take control of the land behind the Fratton End.

After appointing a facilities management company, called MERJS,
Sacha will now charge motorists £10 to use the car park when Pompey
play at home and £5 at all other times.

After trying to contact the club with no success Gaydamak felt he
had no option but to take control of the area where the car park is
sited - "For safety reasons...''

A statement from his financier read... "The reason for that is the
club has been using that land without a lease, with no licence. That
is a dangerous situation for Sacha. If there is an accident, or
somebody trips over, it could cause great difficulties.

"We are doing this, taking control of this, for health and safety
reasons."

The club is in disarray after a farcical preseason fixture list of
friendly matches ended up with missing kit - late kick offs - and
not enough players to make a team up.

And now the squad have nowhere to park at home - can things get any
worse?

Well it's 5/2 they do - as that's Portsmouth's price for
relegation from the Championship this season.

cept the judgment, trade him or let him become an unrestricted free agent. He now is an unrestricted free agent.

Turco went 22-20 with a 2.7 goals-against average and .913 save percentage and four shutouts for the Dallas Stars.

Niemi was 26-7 with a 2.2 GAA and .912 save percentage. He also had seven shutouts.

r, $102 million contract Kovalchuk signed with the New Jersey Devils "on the grounds that it circumvents the NHL's salary cap," TSN's story says.

Kovalchuk became an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and has been called the best player to hit the market in the post-work stoppage era. He's reportedly set to earn $95 million over the first 10 years of the contract and only $7 million over the final seven, including a salary of $550,000 per season over the final five years of the deal.

The same reports say Kovalchuk will earn $11.5 million per season from 2012-17, but because of the final seven years of the deal the annual cap hit is $6 million. The 17-year deal is the longest contract in NHL history.

Tom Gulitti of The Record wrote on his blog, Fire & Ice, that Devils CEO/President/General Manager Lou Lamoriello refused comment when reached tonight and majority owner Jeff Vanderbeek was unaware the contract had been rejected by the NHL.

Kovalchuk's signing was introduced in a press conference at Prudential Center on Tuesday afternoon. Kovalchuk, Lamoriello, Vanderbeek and coach John MacLean were all in attendance. So, too, were teammates Martin Brodeur, Patrik Elias, Zach Parise, Jamie Langenbrunner and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond.

also pursued by the New York Islanders and SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.

Should Kovalchuk play until the end of the deal, when he'll be 44, the source clarified that the forward will have earned more than $150 million as an NHL player, including his time with the Atlanta Thrashers.

"This was a long arduous process that has taken frankly a little longer than I thought," agent Jay Grossman said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "But you know what, nothing is worth anything unless you work for it. I can tell you he is very happy to be with the New Jersey Devils."

The Devils said they would have media availability with Kovalchuk on Tuesday. Kovalchuk rejected a 12-year, $101 million contract extension with Atlanta earlier this year, before the Thrashers traded him to New Jersey. But that doesn't necessarily mean he'll make less money per year at the front end of his new deal with the Devils.

While Kovalchuk's per-year terms were not yet disclosed, the nature of longer-term deals make it easier for a team to fit star players under the salary cap. Most of these types of deals are front-loaded with the bulk of the salary being paid out long before it expires.

Marian Hossa, for example, signed a 12-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks before the start of the 2009-10 season. Hossa made $7.9 million this past season and will continue to take in that same annual salary for the next six years of the deal. However, for the 2016-17 season, his salary will drop to $4 million. In 2017-18 and 2018-19, Hossa will make $1 million and in the final two years of the deal, he will make just $750,000 each year.

Grossman refused to say that Kovalchuk decided to stay because he felt the Devils had a better chance to win the Stanley Cup.

"This was so far complex that I don't want to get into those questions," Grossman said. "Obviously his goal is to win the Stanley Cup. If he didn't think there was an opportunity to do that, then he would not have gone there."

The 27-year-old Russian joined the Devils on Feb. 4 in a trade with the Thrashers, the only team he had played for in his eight-year NHL career after being drafted No. 1 overall in 2001. The Devils sent Niclas Bergfors, Johnny Oduya, prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-round pick to Atlanta in return for Kovalchuk and Anssi Salmela.

Kovalchuk had 41 goals and 44 assists last season, with 10 goals and 17 assists coming in his 27 games with the Devils.

He has 338 goals and 304 assists in 642 career NHL games.

r Montreal they do better hope Price finds form because they won't be among the top 8 next year.

d usurped Price as their starting goaltender late in the NHL season and played brilliantly in leading them to a berth in the Eastern Conference final.

In return, Montreal got centre Lars Eller, who may be ready to play next season, and rugged winger
Ian Schultz from the junior Calgary Hitmen, who will likely need seasoning in the minors.

Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier called it "big picture decision," in which the team's scouts and managers opted for the long-term potential of the 22-year-old Price, the fifth overall draft pick of 2005, over the more immediate success from the 25-year-old Halak.

The trade was widely panned by Habs fans on Twitter and other websites within minutes of its completion. Most felt that Price should have been dealt and, if not, the team should have got more for the goalie who was the main reason Montreal upset Washington and Pittsburgh in the playoffs.

A "shame," a "nightmare," and "April Fool's in June" were among the comments posted on one website.

In the House of Commons in Ottawa, Liberal MP Justin Trudeau said "What? Halak for two hockey sticks and a bag of magic beans?"

Halak was the Canadiens' player of the year in 2009-10, when he went 26-13-5 and was fifth among NHL goalies in save percentage at .940 and ninth in goals-against average at 2.40. Price was 13-20-5 with a 2.77 average and a .912 save percentage.

Both goaltenders are due to become restricted free agents on July 1, with Halak holding the right to salary arbitration, but Gauthier didn't try to work out a deal once the team decided to make a trade.

He could have kept both, but Halak indicated in a conference call that would have left both unhappy.

"I think they did the best thing they could do — keep one goalie and give the other one a chance to play most of the season," Halak said from Slovakia. "It's best for everyone that I was dealt and can start on a new beginning."

St. Louis made the trade after informing veteran goalie Chris Mason they would not attempt to sign him to a new contract.

Blues GM Doug Armstrong was delighted to get a proven young goaltender in Halak without giving up any of the young talent on his current roster, but he disputed the notion that the Canadiens didn't get fair value.

"When you look at the young defensemen and forwards we have, we feel we dealt for a young goalie who can fit in and grow with this team," he said. "I think he's excited to go to a team that will use him as a clear-cut No. 1.

"I think we gave up great value to get Jaro. It's difficult for fans in Montreal because they haven't seen Lars, but I think they'll like him."

Eller, 21, had two goals in seven games for the Blues this season and was the second-leading scorer in 70 games for Peoria of the AHL with 18 goals and 39 assists. The six-foot-one, 198-pound centre from Denmark was drafted 13th overall by St. Louis in 2007.

Schultz, 20, the younger brother of Washington defenseman Jeff Schultz(notes),
is a physical six-foot-two, 185-pound winger who had 24 goals and 31 assists for the Hitmen. He was drafted 87th overall in 2008.

Gauthier said managing the salary cap had much to do with why he wanted prospects instead of established players. He said having relatively lower paid young players like Eller who can play regularly helps to keep veterans.

Halak earned US$800,000 last season and is due for a big raise. Eller is to earn $875,000 in the NHL next season, or much less in the AHL.

The Canadiens are in negotiations to keep centre Tomas Plakanec, their scoring leader who can become an unrestricted free agent, and a handful of other potential free agents.

He said the team will look to a free agent market that will be rich in veteran goalies this summer for a back-up for Price.

"You need two good goalies and we'll make sure we have two good goalies," said Gauthier. "We're very comfortable with Carey Price.

"He has about 150 games even though he's only 22. He has a few rounds of playoffs. He has a Calder Cup. He brings a lot to the table and we think he will be a very good goalie in the NHL."

No-one questions the talent of the six-foot-three Price, but there has been concern over his ability to handle the mental side of the game. Halak's strength was his consistency, while Price has been up and down since his joining the Canadiens in the 2008-09 season.

Halak bumped Price to backup duty late in the regular season after he led Slovakia to a fourth-place finish at the Winter Olympics, where he was outstanding in making 36 saves in a 2-1 upset of Russia.

His brilliance continued in the playoffs, where he set a team record with 53 regulation time stops in a 4-1 victory over Washington as the Canadiens came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the first-place Capitals in the opening round.

Halak, the 271st overall pick of 2003, was strong since his first call-up from AHL Hamilton in 2007, when he took over from the injured Cristobal Huet(notes) for Montreal's final push for a playoff spot.

In 101 career NHL games, all with Montreal, he was 56-34-7 with a 2.62 goals-against average, but until the last stretch of his fourth season, he mostly took a back seat to Price.

"I played more and more and got more respect from the organization and the coach, too," said Halak. "The only way to do it is to get a chance and win games and that's what I was trying to do.

"Now there's a new start."

"He's a winner," Armstrong said of his new goalie. "He finds ways to win games and now we feel he's ready to take that next step."

rnament Denmark Poland 3 - 1
18.11.2009 FRI - Friendly International Denmark Usa 3 - 1
14.11.2009 FRI - Friendly International Denmark South Korea 0 - 0
14.10.2009 WC - World Cup South Africa 2010 Denmark Hungary 0 - 1
10.10.2009 WC - World Cup South Africa 2010 Denmark Sweden 1-0
09.09.2009 WC - World Cup South Africa 2010 Albania Denmark 1-1
05.09.2009 WC - World Cup South Africa 2010 Denmark Portugal 1-1

endly International Australia Holland 0 - 0
09.09.2009 WC - World Cup Qual... Scotland Holland 0 - 1
05.09.2009 FRI - Friendly International Holland Japan 3 - 0
12.08.2009 FRI - Friendly International Holland England 2-2

an "extra day off," following the first game that started on a Thursday the Celtics won game 2. I want the Lakers to win but at home Boston definitely has the advantage so now I see this going 7 with the Lakers winning at home on magic Thursday when the spread no doubt will be 6 just to guile and rile me.

The strange non stat about this series has been the great player from the previous game was average or even non existent in his next game.

but so did the Lakers in game 3!