Janne to sign with a Finny team?

There's a rumour going around Montreal that Janne Niinimaa will sign with his former Finnish team Karpat this summer.

Niinimaa had a horrendous season and it appears he's lost that spunk he had shown fans in the pre-lockout era.

A former second round pick, Niinimaa's bounced around teams like Edmonton, Philadelphia, New York (Islanders), Dallas, before being traded to Montreal in a pre-season deal for Mike Ribeiro.

Once consider a top-flight defenceman, Niinimaa's been reduced to a depth role and his inability to score like he once did and play defence in the vastly-improved in terms of speed, new NHL will cost him his job in the NHL next season, at least he saw it that way.

Who knows? Ninnny could make a return to the NHL in a few seasons and be an impact player, the most recent possible player to do that is the belated Alexei Morozov.

Maybe a little European hockey will put some sense back into his play, and he will be a better player when he returns, if he doesn't, happy trails Janne!