At a Sunday session of the Blackhawks Convention, GM Stan Bowman discussed yesterday’s arbitration award of $2.75 million to goaltender Antti Niemi:
“There are always options in every decision,” Bowman said Sunday during a panel discussion at the 2010 Blackhawks Convention. "You have to weigh what it would take, what it would do to your team in terms of flexibility-wise if you decide to keep him (or) if maybe you have to move somebody else along. There’s no one right way to do it. But we’re going to all think about it and we’ll come up with the right decision.
“I’ve tried to say this all along. You know, one guy does not make a team here. We’ve got a lot of great players and we’re going to be ready come October to defend the Cup and we’re going to work on making sure we get it right.”
The Hawks have several options if they decide to cut ties with Niemi, including minor leaguer Corey Crawford and veteran free agents Marty Turco and Jose Theodore.