Ray Emery vs. Martin Gerber: True Goalie Situation in Ottawa

Many people in Ottawa say that Martin Gerber is fantastic and he should be the Senators' number-one goalie. 

It has also been argued that the Sens should trade Ron Emery, because his skills are overrated and his attitude creates problems in the dressing room. 

My, how things get twisted when fans have short memories.  Lets take a look back:

Emery went into the playoffs for the first time as a rookie after Hasek had been hurt.  He won the first series in five games, and then lost a series to Buffalo where every game was decided by one goal game, three of his four losses came in overtime.

He then had to fight for the number-one job after Gerber was brought in to be the team's "saviour."  He won the starting job back by helping carry the team out of a slump and straight to the Cup Finals—and did it with a wrist he injured in middle of November.

Because of surgery, Emery had no off-season training, no training camp and no preseason outside of two periods—for a total of six shots faced. 

Gerber had a strong season in Carolina, but still had his job taken away by a young backup. He came to Ottawa and crumbled under the unfamiliar pressure of playing in a Canadian city—and again, his job was taken by a young backup.

Now, Gerber has started to show that he is capable of being a number-one goaltender.

Lets not forget that last year Gerber was hated by the fans, who wanted him shipped out of town. He turns his game around, and now the same fans want Emery gone instead? 

Emery is playing like any goalie would play at the start of training camp.  He needs time to get the rust off.  Emery also brings 18 playoff wins and experience in the Stanley Cup Finals, whereas Gerber has just one playoff win to his credit. 

Also, I recall the fans liked that Emery had a bit of an attitude, since everybody felt felt the Sens were lacking in that area.

Let's not ship Emery out of town just yet.  The Sens should keep them both, because if Gerber again chokes under the pressure, then at least they will have an experienced goalie coming off the bench. 

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