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Antero Niittymäki

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Antero Niittymäki
Niittymäki during his time with the Philadelphia Flyers on March 2009
Born (1980-06-18) 18 June 1980 (age 45)
Turku, Finland
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for TPS
Philadelphia Flyers
Tampa Bay Lightning
San Jose Sharks
National team  Finland
NHL draft 168th overall, 1998
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 1999–2013

Antero Pertti Elias Niittymäki (born 18 June 1980) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played parts of 7 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and San Jose Sharks. Outside of the NHL, Niittymäki has also played for TPS of the SM-liiga.

He is a two-time Kanada-malja champion, winning back-to-back with TPS in 2000 and 2001. Internationally, Niittymäki plays for Finland.He won a silver medal with them at the 2006 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal with them at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Career

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Before playing in the NHL, Niittymäki played parts of three seasons with TPS of the SM-liiga. He had a successful time with TPS, helping hem win the SM-liiga championship and being awarded the Jarmo Wasama Memorial Trophy for being named Rookie of the Year.[1] In his rookie year, he went 23–6.

He was drafted 168th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1998 NHL entry draft. He never played a game with the Blues and mainly played for their AHL-affiliate Worcester IceCats.

On 4 February 2004, Niittymäki made his NHL debut in a 5–1 win against the Washington Capitals.[2] On 6 December 2005, he recorded his first NHL career shutout, stopping 28 shots in a 1–0 shootout win against the Calgary Flames.[3] He spent most of his time playing bouncing between playing for the Flyers and their AHL-affiliate Philadelphia Phantoms. On 11 April 2004, Niittymäki was able to score a game-winning, empty net, overtime, shorthanded, unassisted goal in a 3–2 win over the Hershey Bears.[4] Niittymäki played a big role in helping the Phantoms during the playoffs. They defeated the Norfolk Admirals, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and Providence Bruins. They went on to sweep and defeat the Chicago Wolves four games to zero to win the Calder Cup.[5] During the playoffs, he was praised for his performance. He finished with a 1.75 GAA and 15 wins, with three of them being shutouts. He was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy for MVP of the playoffs.[6] On July 5, 2006, Niittymäki signed a 1-year, $2.45 million contract to stay with the Flyers.[7] Niittymäki became the starting goaltender for the Flyers after Robert Esche had disagreements with the coach.[8] He returned to backup goaltender after the Flyers brought in Martin Biron. On 14 June 2007, Niittymäki signed a two-year, $2.45 million contract to stay with the Flyers.[9]

On 14 June 2007, Niittymäki signed a one-year, $600,000 contract to join the Tampa Bay Lightning.[10] He played 49 regular season games with the team, with a record of 21–18.

On 1 July 2010, Niittymäki signed a 2 years, $4 million contract to join the San Jose Sharks.[11] He played well but suffered an injury to his hip and had to have surgery which took him out of action for 12 weeks.[12]

On 12 April 2013, Niittymäki announced that was retiring from playing professional ice hockey after multiple hip injuries had forced his retirement.[13] After retiring, he became a European goaltender scout for the Philadelphia Flyers.[14]

References

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  1. ↑ "Washington Capitals vs. Boston Bruins Box Score: December 21, 1996". Hockey-Reference. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Roundup: N.H.L.; Flyers Triumph In Debut For Goalie". New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  3. ↑ "NHL: Philadelphia 1, Calgary 0". UPI. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Niittymaki Scores in OT to Give Phantoms 3–2 Win in Hershey". Philadelphia Phantoms. Archived from the original on December 15, 2005. Retrieved January 21, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ↑ "Philadelphia Phantoms win AHL's Calder Cup". CBC Sports. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Phan-tastic season ends with Cup win". American Hockey League. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Flyers Re-Sign Goaltender Antero Niittymaki". Philadelphia Flyers. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ↑ "Niittymaki Ready for Action". Philadelphia Flyers. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ↑ "Flyers Sign Antero Niittymaki to New Two-Year Contract". Philadelphia Flyers. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ↑ "Lightning sign FA goalie Niittymaki". Sportsnet. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Niittymaki Signs With San Jose". San Jose Sharks. Archived from the original on July 4, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ↑ "Sharks goalie woes: Antero Niittymaki out 12 weeks after lower body surgery". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Former NHLer Antero Niittymäki Calls It A Career". The Hockey House. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Niitty-Gritty Scouting". Philadelphia Flyers. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

Other websites

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