Hockey Terminal
Be a GM

← All players

Photo of Antti Niemi

Antti Niemi

#37 · Goalie · Montréal Canadiens

Born Aug 29, 1983 in Vantaa, FIN · 6'2", 209 lb · Catches left

Trophy case

Stanley Cup NHL Champion 2009-10

Compare with a similar player

The goalies closest to him in games played in 2015-16. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Jake Allen STL · 47 GP, 0.920 Ryan Miller VAN · 51 GP, 0.916 Chad Johnson BUF · 45 GP, 0.920 Cam Ward CAR · 52 GP, 0.909 Frederik Andersen ANA · 43 GP, 0.919

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

02040602008-09: 3 games308-092009-10: 39 games3909-102010-11: 60 games6010-112011-12: 68 games6811-122012-13: 43 games4312-132013-14: 64 games6413-142014-15: 61 games6114-152015-16: 48 games4815-162016-17: 37 games3716-172017-18: 24 games2417-182018-19: 17 games1718-19

Games played by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save % Cap hit
2008-09 CHI 3 1110 59 51 8 3.40 0.864
2009-10 CHI 39 26747 936 854 82 2.25 0.912 $827K
2010-11 SJS 60 351866 1741 1601 140 2.38 0.920 $2M
2011-12 SJS 68 342296 1865 1706 159 2.42 0.915 $3.8M
2012-13 SJS 43 241264 1220 1127 93 2.16 0.924 $3.8M
2013-14 SJS 64 391774 1705 1556 149 2.39 0.913 $3.8M
2014-15 SJS 61 312375 1811 1656 155 2.59 0.914 $3.8M
2015-16 DAL 48 251373 1246 1128 118 2.67 0.905 $4.5M
2016-17 DAL 37 121240 880 785 95 3.30 0.892 $4.5M
2017-18 PIT 3 0300 79 63 16 7.49 0.797 $700K
2017-18 FLA 2 0100 39 34 5 5.11 0.872
2017-18 MTL 19 7541 592 550 42 2.46 0.929
2018-19 MTL 17 8620 539 478 61 3.78 0.887 $950K
11 seasons Career 464 2421405736 12712 11589 1123 2.57 0.912

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
2009-10 CHI 22 16602 645 587 58 2.63 0.910
2010-11 SJS 18 8900 538 482 56 3.22 0.896
2011-12 SJS 5 1400 151 138 13 2.45 0.914
2012-13 SJS 11 7400 298 277 21 1.87 0.930
2013-14 SJS 6 3300 164 145 19 3.74 0.884
2015-16 DAL 5 1300 96 83 13 3.29 0.865
6 seasons Playoffs 67 362902 1892 1712 180 2.77 0.905

2015-16 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
48 43 251373 1246 1128 118 2.67 0.905

Contract

$4.5MCap hitends in 2018, then UFA
$476KCap dollars per goal above replacement9.5 goals above replacement
$2.8MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$1.7MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 58 ranked goalies whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. It runs through 2017-18, with 2 seasons left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2015-16 $4.5M
2016-17 $4.5M
2017-18 $4.5M

Each season left on the contract. Only its cap hit and its end are known: how the pay is split by season, and any signing bonus, are not.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2018-19 to 2018-19 $950K
2017-18 to 2017-18 $700K
2015-16 to 2017-18 $4.5M
2011-12 to 2014-15 $3.8M
2010-11 to 2010-11 $2M
2009-10 to 2009-10 $827K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2015-16 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2015-16 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+9.5Goals above replacement29th of 58 goalies
+1.6Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-2.3Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 58 ranked goalies: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. Goals above average is coloured as it is under Shots faced below, where it is taken per 60 minutes.

The goals he saved for his team, compared with a spare-part goalie facing the same shots. A goalie's season is about one-third the goalie and two-thirds chance, so read one year lightly. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-20-1001020302010-112012-132014-152016-172018-19Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

Shots faced

Expected goals adds up how likely each shot he faced was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. A goalie who lets in fewer than that has saved goals above expected. Only shots taken while he was in net count, and the league's goalies as a whole come out at zero. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones. What these numbers mean

-2.3Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
115.7Expected goals againstfrom 1,806 unblocked attempts
118Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.905Save %0.907 expected from his shots

Goals saved above expected, taken per 60 minutes, and save % are coloured by where they rank among the 57 goalies who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. The two goals against tiles are left plain, since they follow how much he played.

Goals saved -0.05 above expected per 60 minutes37th
Shot difficulty 6.4% chance per attempt faced74thA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 57 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

050100Game 10Game 20Game 30Game 40Allowed 118Expected 115.7

The goals he was expected to let in and the goals he did, as the season went on. When the allowed line runs below the expected line, he is saving more than his shots were worth.

Where he was shot at

Every unblocked attempt he faced this season, with his net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result Decision Shots against Saves Goals against Save % TOI
Apr 9, 2016 vs NSH W 3-2 W 30 28 2 0.933 59:57
Apr 3, 2016 @ ANA L 1-3 L 24 22 2 0.917 58:02
Mar 31, 2016 vs ARI W 4-1 W 32 31 1 0.969 60:00
Mar 26, 2016 @ SJS W 4-2 W 36 34 2 0.944 60:00
Mar 15, 2016 vs LAK L 2-5 11 10 1 0.909 38:53
Mar 12, 2016 vs STL L 4-5 (OT) OTL 36 31 5 0.861 61:19
Mar 1, 2016 @ NSH L 3-5 L 18 14 4 0.778 29:48
Feb 29, 2016 vs DET L 2-3 (OT) OTL 33 30 3 0.909 61:50
Feb 25, 2016 vs WPG L 3-6 8 5 3 0.625 20:00
Feb 23, 2016 @ WPG W 5-3 W 25 22 3 0.880 59:56
Feb 18, 2016 @ ARI L 3-6 L 41 36 5 0.878 59:17
Feb 15, 2016 @ NSH W 3-2 (OT) W 26 24 2 0.923 63:49
Feb 6, 2016 vs CHI L 1-5 L 11 8 3 0.727 20:00
Feb 4, 2016 @ COL W 4-3 (OT) W 24 21 3 0.875 60:35
Feb 2, 2016 @ WPG W 5-3 W 24 21 3 0.875 60:00
Jan 25, 2016 vs CGY W 2-1 W 24 23 1 0.958 59:56
Jan 23, 2016 vs COL L 1-3 L 15 12 3 0.800 57:07
Jan 21, 2016 vs EDM W 3-2 W 25 23 2 0.920 60:00
Jan 16, 2016 @ SJS L 3-4 (OT) OTL 39 35 4 0.897 61:12
Jan 9, 2016 vs MIN L 1-2 L 25 23 2 0.920 57:25
Jan 5, 2016 @ NYR L 2-6 L 29 23 6 0.793 59:33
Jan 2, 2016 @ NJD L 2-3 (OT) OTL 30 27 3 0.900 61:47
Dec 31, 2015 vs NSH W 5-1 W 34 33 1 0.971 60:00
Dec 29, 2015 @ CBJ L 3-6 L 18 16 2 0.889 37:19
Dec 26, 2015 @ STL L 2-3 (SO) OTL 37 35 2 0.946 65:00
Dec 22, 2015 vs CHI W 4-0 W, SO 20 20 0 1.000 60:00
Dec 21, 2015 @ MIN W 6-3 W 31 30 1 0.968 51:44
Dec 19, 2015 vs MTL W 6-2 W 23 21 2 0.913 60:00
Dec 12, 2015 @ STL L 0-3 L 26 23 3 0.885 59:57
Dec 11, 2015 vs PHI W 3-1 W 20 19 1 0.950 60:00
Dec 8, 2015 vs CAR W 6-5 W 0 0 0 0.000 06:43
Dec 4, 2015 @ EDM L 1-2 (OT) OTL 24 22 2 0.917 60:45
Dec 1, 2015 @ CGY L 3-4 (SO) OTL 32 29 3 0.906 65:00
Nov 28, 2015 @ MIN W 4-3 (OT) W 26 23 3 0.885 63:46
Nov 27, 2015 vs VAN W 3-2 (SO) W 36 34 2 0.944 64:40
Nov 24, 2015 vs OTT L 4-7 L 16 11 5 0.688 51:04
Nov 21, 2015 vs BUF W 3-0 W, SO 22 22 0 1.000 59:56
Nov 17, 2015 @ BUF W 3-1 W 25 24 1 0.960 60:00
Nov 10, 2015 vs TOR L 2-3 L 30 27 3 0.900 58:41
Nov 2, 2015 @ TOR L 1-4 L 26 22 4 0.846 59:04
Oct 31, 2015 vs SJS W 5-3 W 29 26 3 0.897 60:00
Oct 29, 2015 vs VAN W 4-3 (OT) W 32 29 3 0.906 62:17
Oct 27, 2015 vs ANA W 4-3 W 20 17 3 0.850 59:36
Oct 24, 2015 vs FLA L 2-6 19 16 3 0.842 38:35
Oct 22, 2015 @ PIT W 4-1 W 34 33 1 0.971 60:00
Oct 20, 2015 @ PHI W 2-1 W 35 34 1 0.971 60:00
Oct 10, 2015 @ COL L 3-6 L 28 22 6 0.786 60:00
Oct 8, 2015 vs PIT W 3-0 W, SO 37 37 0 1.000 59:50