Sharks sign G Antti Niemi to 1-year deal

It's just the strategic thinker in me that sees San Jose looking at screwing with Chicago's cap space while landing players they feel will bring them closer to a Stanley Cup as its been noted in this yahoo sports article: "The Sharks made it tougher for the Blackhawks to keep Niemi when they signed Chicago restricted free agent Niklas Hjalmarsson (notes) to a $14 million, four-year offer sheet in July. The Blackhawks matched the offer for the defenseman but that left them with less money available for Niemi."

While the yahoo comment section does offer some comic relief many are missing the big picture that San Jose took great interest in messing with Chicago's cap space hence their depth. This trend is nothing new as Detroit has gained and lost players to cap space wrangling. Teams may lock up their core players; however it's the support from their depth/role players that take you to final prize. Again this is nothing new yet every year it seems whole swaths of fandom and TV commentators for that matter forget this underrated piece to a true team sport like hockey.