Marty Turco

Marty found a job. Yes, you heard me right. Marty Turco, Dallas' former premier goaltender, is now a Chicago Blackhawk.

Yes, I knew I'd never see him as a Dallas Star again, yet I'm still reeling from the news. How strange will this be to play against Turco?

And no back up goalie for our dear Marty.

The Chicago Blackhawks have been in arbitration with Anti Neimi for a while now. Today, they walked away from the arbitration table and signed unrestricted free agent goalie Marty Turco to a one-year contract. Niemi in turn becomes an unrestricted free agent.

This Chicago Tribune was the first to report this (shocking to us Stars fans) news. They reported that the monetary arrangements were not disclosed, but they did report that the deal is worth between $1 million and $1.5 million.
Supposedly, according to NHL.com, Turco turned down a contract with Philadelphia worth $2 million earlier this year. (And who can blame him, who wants to live in Philadelphia?)

Marty Turco has a 262-154-26 record. He was 22-20-11 in the 2009/2010 season with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage and four shutouts for the Dallas Stars.


"Our priority ... was to put him with a club where he had a chance to play a role to win the Stanley Cup," Kurt Overhardt, Turco's agent, told the Chicago Tribune.

Will Marty be #1?

It is possible that the Blackhawks will downgrade Cristobel Huet to downgrade to the AHL. And Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman wants to give Corey Crawford a chance.

While last year wasn't a stellar year for Marty Turco, he was still pretty good, and erase that year, and the Blackhawks may just be making one of the best deals for a goaltender in the NHL.

Best of luck, Marty!

FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT Marty Turco.

Marty Turco is a 34 year old goalie, played for a good Dallas Stars franchise that has been on the downswing for the past two seasons, and only went deep into the playoffs once in 9 seasons
He’s always been a top notch goalie, putting up excellent numbers during good and bad seasons.  He’s not the one to blame for the Stars’ shortcomings. Still, they decided to let him go, and move in another direction. He’s not completely over the hill, and he can still play, so he’ll be commanding a decent salary and a starting job. Now most of the time, when a good goalie hits the free agent market, they most likely end up with teams that are rebuilding or somewhere in the middle of the pack and need a change to help them join the elite.

Not Marty, apparently. According to this CSN article, he’s being sought by the cream of the crop. How awesome is it for him, that both Stanley Cup Finalists want him on their team.  First came the runners up, our Philadelphia Flyers, whose salary cap problems didn’t get them enough mobility to give him a legit offer. Poor Marty, his price tag is a bit high for the best losers. Oh wait, now the champs are the frontrunners to sign him. The Chicago Blackhawks went to arbitration with Anti Niemi, and are likely to let him go rather than pay the $2.75 that he was awarded. Instead, they’re rumored to sign Turco as their new netminder. And yes, it’s a huge upgrade, and even with their recent departures, they still remain a favorite for next season if they do get Turco.

I’d have so much more faith in Turco than I do in Leighton.  Maybe, rather than signing Shelley and Carcillo, we’d have the cap space to get him.  I would have loved him in Orange and Black for a few seasons, but unfortunately, it’s not meant to be.

Thanks for reading!