| 26 February 2009
Graeme: Now that Cory "I'm Looking Less and Less Like A Temp" Clouston has announced Alex Auld as his starter for tonight's game against San Jose. Given how fickle the media is here, how long before we can expect to hear about a goaltender controversy?
Tim: Well its been a few weeks since the starter's job has been up for grabs, I'd say its right on schedule. Maybe Murray will pull of a few more early trades and leave the media with the goaltending bone to gnaw on for a while.
Brad: I'm actually surprised at how little outcry there has been over the goaltending in this city for once. People must really believe that Elliott's the real deal, even after only a handful of games. I feel that he has to take his lumps if he's going to play at this level. I'm a little surprised that he's not getting the start tonight since you'd assume the rest of the season would be used to gauge Elliott's ability to be the number one.
Tim: Exactly, we know what Auld is capable of, and thats bailing us out in a jam. Hopefully it'll never come to hearing his name announced as the starting goalie in the Playoffs but Elliot still has that question mark.
Graeme: I like how Clouston's giving the nod to Auld tonight. While I haven't seen Elliott play recently, he or the team have been off during his starts. If confidence is an issue, at least they're not literally and proverbially throwing him to the Sharks tonight. Wow, how Kulka'esque of me.
Tim: Classic. I would have gone for the 'jumping the shark' reference however. Tomato Tomatoe as Dan Quayle would say. I was under the impression the Senators were gonna let Elliot play it out through thick and thin to analyse their goaltending situation heading into the offseason. I guess I was off base with that one. I agree though with the confidence issue, more than a handful of his starts the team has definitley hung him out to dry and his confidence definitely gets shaken early when that happens.
Graeme: Maybe that's why it's better to start Auld tonight. Assuming Ottawa loses tonight, it will make the decision easier for Clouston to start Elliott again. And if he plays well, everyone can get back on his bandwagon.
Tim: I'm gonna start a new bandwagon, it's called, drafting goaltenders. Whatever happened to Jeff Glass by the way?
Brad: I know Emery pissed away his NHL in the interim but Ottawa has developed two young goalies (Elliott and Sugar) in the past 5 years. Have many other teams have done that?
Tim: Pogge and Tellqvist yo! Seriously though, let's not get ourselves into a scenerio where we compare the Senators goaltending situation to other teams in the league. Like Torts once said, "We know what we did wrong."
Graeme: I don't think that there's any question that if Murray hordes some early round picks, he'll spend one to address their depth at the position. Frankly, I'm glad they didn't spend last year's pick on Jacob Markstrom. The guy's more vain than Jason Spezza.
Brad: Yeah, I'd like to see Murray address the lack of depth in nets. Good call on Markstrom. I think ScotiaBank Place has seen enough of him pulling his mask off to run his hand through his hair to last us a lifetime. Back to depth though, we'll need some more with Martin Gerber's imminent departure. Is there a better feel good story to this year's Deadline than that?
Tim: I still think he was given a raw deal. With the way the Sens have played since he was given the pink slip, it's pretty obvious that he wasn't the scapegoat that the media made him out to be. Patty Roy would have played the same way with those 6 in front of him this year.
Brad: Yeah, the Senators' team defense last year was inept. They couldn't have stopped a pee-wee team.
Tim: Especially not those Quebec pee-wee tournament kids. That's some lights out shit.
Brad: Those kids are fucking nuts.
Tim: I hate to take the defeatist route here so bear with me. We all know what will happen if Elliot plays well for the rest of the year, but what happens if he doesn't? What options are they left with?
Graeme: It means we don't have to pay him as much when he becomes a RFA on July 1st. Not that it matters. Ottawa doesn't have the payroll flexibility to address the goaltending position via Free Agency. Any trade would have to involve moving a roster player with some salary. Also, look at what's going on with Carey Price. He's proof that there's no sure thing with any young starting goalie. Regardless of whether people think you're Jesus.
Brad: Price, they should put his stats on the warning label for cigarettes.
Graeme: Speaking of things that are related to the cause of death. Maybe it's time to eulogize Martin Gerber's career.
Tim: I'll just say this, Gerbers Senators tombstone will simply read "The Swiss Miss - May His Salary Cap Hit R.I,P."
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
