Antti Niemi will not be returning as Carey Price’s backup and looking back; there have been a few good names who filled this role, but who was the best?
Antti Niemi is one of several goaltenders Carey Price has had as his backup, and while some have had better numbers than him, none of the former backups were as respected by Carey Price on a personal level. During the Montreal Canadiens exit interviews, Price stated just as much citing Niemi’s attitude in the room and his past championship as the reason why.
“Niemi is the partner that I respected the most out of all my partners; he’s a champion” - Carey Price #HabsSeasonReview #GoHabsGo
— From Failing Hands Podcast (@FFHandsPodcast) April 9, 2019
Make no mistake, Antti Niemi was more than exceptional when came in during the tumultuous 2018-19 season and was one of the bright spots among the very few that year. However, during the past year, Niemi struggled in most of his games with the exception being a 48-save performance against the Florida Panthers earlier this season.
One could argue the Canadiens could have had a few extra wins if they had someone else filling the role. As a result, former backups Peter Budaj, Al Montoya and Mike Condon come to mind as well as the most probable candidate next season, Charlie Lindgren.
Peter Budaj spent three seasons with the Canadiens and posted an overall .910 save percentage and a 2.45 GAA. Budaj played well for the majority of his tenure while backing up Price. With the Canadiens regular season records those years, it would look like Budaj was the best backup but with the team struggling to score most nights, the coaching staff opted for starting Carey Price on most nights as a safer bet.