The Montreal Canadiens had one surprise addition to their training camp roster in the early days of tryouts.
Sami Niku, who had his contract terminated with the Winnipeg Jets signed a one-year contract with the Habs on September 24th, joining the team just a few days into camp.
Niku is a skilled defenceman, displaying terrific speed and a willingness to jump into the play offensively and try to create chances with the forwards on his team. It is an element that is missing from the Habs blue line and it was thought he could earn himself a depth spot with a decent camp.
Then, in the midst of the NHL’s crackdown on pushing with sticks, Niku was run from behind by Josh Norris of the Ottawa Senators. While the league decided to really crack down on hard stick pushing, they forgot to include players being run from behind into the boards and smashing their faces off the glass as something they want to get out of the game.
So, Niku was run from behind and left his first preseason game with the Habs in the first period. He did not return and it was announced yesterday that he will miss some time with a concussion.
In the few minutes he did play, Niku displayed everything that is good about his game. He carried the puck up ice, gained possession in the offensive zone, and jumped into the play to create odd man rushes.
He was on for a goal against when no one covered for him on one of those plays, but you take the bad with the good with a player like Niku and hope the good outweighs the bad.
He won’t get much of a chance now to show if it does. A concussion will likely keep him out of the lineup a week or more which means he won’t be able to play any more preseason games for the Canadiens.
With Chris Wideman also showing the ability to be that depth defender that brings offence without being outmatched defensively, it makes it far more likely that Niku doesn’t crack the opening night lineup if he is healthy.
That means waivers for Niku, but he might be a bit protected as he will earn $425,000 this season even if he plays in the minors all year. That’s a fairly heavy price tag for a player playing in the minors so weaker teams that may want him could be scared off by having to pay that much for him if he is stuck in the minors all year.
It is unfortunate that the league can’t figure out what rules should be enforced more than they currently are. Apparently players having their heads smashed into the glass on a dangerous hit from behind is further down the list of importance than offsides or how late in the game teams are allowed to use coaches challenges.