Upon Further Review

@Keith;
I'm fairly certain the Leafs are smart enough not to do that. Emery is a waste of money. To me, he's a lot like the Vince Carter back in Toronto. Too much of an ego for anyone to control. I do beleive Ottawa will be just fine without Emery, and wouldn't surprise me if they make it to the second round, but they need to rid themselves of the 'burden' they're lugging on their backs. This guy needs some discipline, or he won't even make it in the AHL or any other league for that matter. So what you have an injury. That doesn't make you any more special then Alfredson or Healy. You are a member of that team, and your actions affect them as a result. Every action has a reaction and it clearly shows in their 1-5 w/l streak. Ditch Emery and bring up the young guns, at least you'll get players that'll make it on time and are determined to work as a squad and determined to win.

So much for the game against LA being what they needed. So much for the return of Bryan Murray being a spark.

I still don't understand why Ottawa didn't try to trade for a goalie over the trade deadline. Clearly Emery isn't the answer, and Gerber doesn't appear to be either.

I feel that sens will rebound again but the coach will have to make it clear who.s 1 goalie

Ottawa should have traded Ray Emery to Toronto for Raycroft at the deadline.

Hopefully Ottawa will get past the first round. If that happens I'll go out and buy a lottery ticket and dream about the Leafs making the playoffs next year: period! Emery needs a bigger ticket audience for his antics and attitude; Toronto is a perfect fit for it. Trade Emery to the Leafs for Raycroft this summer.

Hey if the Sens get past the second round I'll buy two more lottery tickets. The sky would indeed be falling! If you can call a professional hockey player a "victim"; let's feel sorry for Gerber. Anyone have a tissue in Ontario that isn't blue and white?

Is it true that Paddock ran some kind of "reward" system between Emery and Gerber? Rumour was that Goalie 'A' would continue to play game after game until he lost. Next game would then go to Goalie 'B'. He'd likewise play 'til he lost; then reins back to 'A'.

If that's so it sounds pretty juvenile, something you'd run with a bunch of kids playing peewee hockey.

On the other hand, there's likely things going on behind closed doors in professional sports that not even the most seasoned sportswriter can understand. A complexity of policies and plans to running a professional sports team -- regardless of the sport -- that is far beyond the grasp of even sports reporters, let alone the general public.

So if Paddock had a system like that, who are we to say it was wrong.

On the other hand, there is a simple rule in business (well, 2 actually):
1) the customer is always right
2) if the customer is ever wrong, see Rule #1.

Which is to say: the fans pay the $$ that runs the NHL and that includes us who watch games on TV and are forced to sit through those commercials. And to the fans, behind-the-scenes team plans and policies mean nothing; only results.

And if Paddock had that goalie reward whatever system in place, the end result seems to have been a dismal failure. Bottom line? Change your goalie policies; please the fans.

Ottawa's issue's are from their CORE
1. Too man ME,ME,ME guys and not enough TEAM
2. Players chasing bonuses for goals instead of wins.
3. Too many Players remain from old core that had so many dissapointments.(cancer remains)
4. Goalies
5. Team Defense.
6. Way too much critism from thier fans for every move they make.
7. NO guts by management to make a big move as they are always thinking they are on a verge of a dynasty!

My Opinion? Emery managed to create enough of a distraction to put the team into the tail-spin its in now. The players lost the focus on team defense they had last season.

Emery not only made himself look bad, he's made the whole team look bad in the process.
I would be very surprised if they made it to the finals again this year.

It was nice to see Martin Gerber get off to the start he did this year, he was the goalie we all thought he was, too bad the team (including Emery) has let him down. He isn't faultless either, but maybe he would have been more consistent if his teammates were as well.

Emery will be shaking his head after this season, when he realizes the great opportunity to win the cup that he threw away...nice going Ray.

Firstly, Jeff, what are you saying...this is Emery's fault? Paddock's? Murray's? Gerber's? I just don't see where you are going with this.

I think the players didn't know what to do because at the beginning of the year hands down Emery was THE GUY when he was ready, because the players were in his camp and they knew for two straight years he bailed out the team and did the job, and last season played almost 3/4 of the year with a broken wrist. I think the room was lost before any of Ray's antics because basically he was left hanging after he sacrificed himself for the team and the coach, or gm or somebody wasn't willing to pay it back.

Secondly, Tom Preissing for Luke Richardson, would you make that trade? This is essentially what the Sens did this year by not signing one and picking up the other. Now, I know LA may have overpaid, and I know his contract minus Luke's would have pushed the Sens dangerously close to the cap, but not replacing that warm body with someone who could fill the roll better has hurt them because Preissing was one of the unsung heroes for the sens, now Meszaros, and Redden and Volchenkov haven't been stellar either, but I think that was the beginning.

I have faith Ottawa will still pull it off. Although they lost the past couple games (vs Anaheim and San Jose), they level of play was much improved. Gerber has been solid, but the offence just hasn't been there. I hope not to see Emery in a Sens jersey again next yr. If they can't trade him, send him to Binghampton. If he acted like a premadonna off the ice, but a superstar on the ice, his attitude and antics, may be forgiven, but that just isn't the case. He's acted like a child and Paddock/Murray should of treated him like one. If he wasn't going to act like a big boy, he wouldn't play. I like seeing Murray giving Gerber another chance to end the season the way they started, with confidence and passion for the game. They'll be ready for the playoff. Win or lose..Go Sens go!

The goaltending controversy isn't the only issue facing the Senators. The team's defence has been A.W.O.L. for most of the season with screamingly glaring gaffes leading to too many opposing team scoring chances. And, because of this, the goalies have been left to the wolves on most nights with little or no defensive support. It doesn't help that Ottawa's scoring is overwhelmingly produced by its top line. There are too many holes on the second, third and fourth lines as well.

The Emery-Gerber saga, although prominent in the media, is not the only reason for the team's free-fall. This was evidenced in the recent Toronto and Boston debacles which led to John Paddock's firing. What is missing is team cohesion and a commitment to playing as an all-pistons firing unit rather than a collection of individuals.

In many respects, this recent stretch reminds me more of the Ottawa Senators of 1993-94 and 1994-95 rather than the 2006-07 Stanley Cup runner-ups. The team may make the playoffs by dint of their first half of the season's play (either in 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th) but will not likely make it past the first or second round. If the team doesn't smarten up and play like they can, golf season will start very early and there will be a lot of departures and a big housecleaning over the summer.

Then again, maybe that isn't such a bad thing...