Takin' a T/O with BT: The Ottawa Senators Are Sent Packin'

For all of the trouble he caused during the regular season, Ray Emery finally got one right.

As he told the press yesterday, he isn't the reason that the Ottawa Senators received an early ride around the links in their custom-made golf carts. His team did that one all by themselves.

How else do you explain the fact that no player got more than two points in a four game series? What about the team not being able to sport one player with a +/- rating in the positives (the highest was an even zero)? Or how can one explain the fact that the Sens looked entirely uncomfortable playing against the high-flying, hard-hitting Pittsburgh Penguins?

In a season when everything fell down around him, he was vilified in the media (with good reason), and practice meant less to him than the fake blood and limbs budget means to Quentin Tarantino, Emery finally got it right. 

That won't (as it shouldn't) stop the Senators from moving on as an organization.

Their first move, in a lot of people's eyes, is to dump Emery. No matter how well-mannered and polite he seemed during the playoffs, there's no doubt he needs to go.

By watching him, it's obvious he's lost his flare and his passion.

His interviews are stale because he doesn't seem to be enjoying his surroundings. The fire in his eyes and the effort to even produce an iota of interest just isn't there; he may as well have called up Ladainian Tomlinson and borrowed the visor from his helmet, as they each have the same amount of personality when they're sitting on the bench.

The Ottawa Senators are stuck with two courses of action. The can either A) buy out the remainder of Emery's three-year contract and let him fend for himself out on the open market in hopes of attaining another job, or B) hope that someone somewhere will offer them something for him.

As nice as it would be to get something for Emery though, the Sens may be better off with the buyout, because teams know they're desperate to unload the troubled tender—who isn't going to low-ball you on this one?

Besides, if this were a case of a guy simply losing his mojo, then there could be some contrived onus on the part of the Sens to help "Rayzor" in his search for a new home.

Based on the way he's treated the organization these past few months, however, it's best to just let Emery learn the tough lessons on his own— after all, the a troubled teen will only learn so much from his parents, he won't understand how tough life is until he lives it for himself.

Welcome to the real world Ray Emery.

Sidenote time!!: Has anyone noticed how the nickname "Rayzor" has destroyed the career of two goalies in the NHL? Both Andrew Raycroft and Emery have been graced with the name, and Raycroft is looser than a sorority girl after a couple of shots of Purple Lei, while Emery has become the NHL's version of Colin Farrell. If an NHL team ever gets a goalie with the word 'ray' anywhere in his name, avoid the nickname "Rayzor" at all costs. It doesn't turn out too well.

But what about the rest of the team? 

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