Ottawa is coming off an incredible season that was never supposed to be. Emery, a sophomore goalie saved the year beginning in December, replacing the mess Martin Gerber had created. After leading the team deep into the playoffs, Emery struggled with a wrist injury and was forced to have surgery in the off-season, causing him to miss out on some extremely important training this summer.
Now, three months later, Ottawa has Emery slowly healing, but questioning whether he is prepared to come back before the start of the regular season. This has given Gerber the opportunity to find his form and try to prove to John Paddock, as well as 29 other General Managers that he is capable of being a number one goalie in the league.
After Ottawa’s win against the Maple Leafs tonight, which allowed Gerber to once again show he has the capacity to make the big save, Paddock is left once again questioning Emery as Ottawa’s number one goalie. This comes with more than one problem.
Ray Emery has proved himself time and time again. After rubber groin Hasek injured himself, Emery came in as a rookie and gave Ottawa more than enough of a chance to get to the Stanley Cup Finals. The following year, instead of handing over the number one job, Ottawa signed Martin Gerber for an inflated contract, who eventually gave way for Emery to shine, taking the Senators to the Cup Finals.
With Emery lacking practice and game time situations, Gerber ends up looking like the better goalie. Does Paddock take the chance with Gerber, and allow Emery to slowly make his way back into the lineup, or does he throw Emery into the mix as soon as possible and hope he regains his form before Ottawa starts to lose their confidence in their goalie?
Saving cap space is a dead issue this year, and unless people start knocking on Gerber’s door, I say let them fight it out. Maybe Ottawa will find themselves with one of the best duos in the league this year.
