Having Issue in Ottawa

Just when you thought the Senators had some of their goaltending issues sorted it out... a new wrench gets thrown into the mix. At least this wrench may do a little bit more good than harm the team here in the long run.

Ray Emery (Box 18) started the game for the Senators last night versus the Hurricanes, despite complaining of hip pains before practice, after practice and warm-up for the game. You would think this one would be a no-brainer for the coaching staff... but Emery perservered through... the first five minutes and a 2-0 lead.

Bring in the back-up!

Emery felt that he couldn't continue through the game and the Sens switched up and had Martin Gerber (Chris ) come in to handle the last 55 minutes of the game. The Sens ended up having no problem dispatching of the Hurricanes through the evening and ended up whoopin' them 6-0. Since Emery was on for the winning goal... he got the win, even though Gerber, at times, stood on his head. Since they switched keepers through the first period, the goose egg that was laid would have be shared with an asterisk and isn't a statistical shutout for either goalie. More of a shame for Gerber than Emery, of course.

This all leads to a bigger point. How long is Emery really going to stay in the graces of the Ottawa organization. There was a supreme level of selfishness displayed by Emery, which already seemed to have left a scratch at the top of the head coach's mouth. The comments about Emery's work ethic and consistency have already been raised during the season... now we can just throw this one into the mix and see if it explodes.

With the number of starts Emery was getting, I had to believe that there was a 'franchise goaltender' tag put on the young keeper, but I am now beginning to speculate that Gerber won't be the one on the block when both of them are healthy. As a rule in a 30+ team league, taking into account the other major sports in North America, there is always one team that is willing to take a gamble on a dysfunctional player from another organization... well, almost always. At Emery's price tag, however, he'll definitely be a tough sell.

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