The Gerber Baby Wets His Bed: Martin Wearing Out Welcome in Ottawa

For those of you who didn't see Ottawa goaltender Martin Gerber's season debut this past Saturday, you missed the most horrifying display of inept goaltending ever put forth by a member of the Senators. Keep in mind, this is a team that's had Daniel Berthiaume and Don Beaupre as goaltenders in the past, which says a lot.

It turns out the Sens lost in overtime, 4-3. Here is the winning goal:



Just for fun, here's the first goal of the game as well:



An NHL goalie needs to make those saves. Imagine how disheartening it is to the rest of his teammates that they work so hard only to lose in overtime after their goalie lets in not one, not two, but three soft goals.

Everyone is entitled to a bad game here and there, but this guy lets in more softies in one game than Roberto Luongo lets in all season. He also does it often. The team is constantly working from a 1-0 deficit early in the game due to his first-shot-of-the-game follies.

What are the options for the Sens? Many are saying Chicago Blackhawks goalkeeper Nikolai Khabibulin can be had, but his $6 million-plus salary is handcuffing. Apparently, Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec is unhappy about going to the minors and wants to be traded. Is he the answer, or should the Sens stick with Brian Elliott as the goalie of the future?

Will the Sens swing a trade for a legitimate No. 1, or will they ride out an Alex Auld/Elliott tandem for this season and test their luck with the free agent market this summer?

The status quo is probably not an option for Sens fans, as the message boards are rife with posters calling for Gerber's head. Fans won't sit by and watch these goaltending follies any longer. Something needs to be done.

Can Auld carry a starter's load all season? Can he work in tandem with Elliott? Can Murray bring in an elite goaltender this season? Many questions, and even more possible answers.

Hopefully, the Ottawa Senators can come up with something, because this team is a decent goalie away from being a legitimate threat to make another Stanley Cup Final appearance.