Following a trip to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final and then getting off to a 15-2 start last season, the Ottawa Senators began to free-fall, and most of the blame was thrown at starting goaltender Ray Emery. Today, neither his team nor the rest of the NHL wanted to give him a real chance. After having offseason wrist surgery, Emery was slow to recover to full form, and it’s debatable if he ever did. Following a series of regrettable events, like being late to practice, a fight with team heavyweight Brian McGrattan and the perceived assumption that he didn’t want to be there, the goaltender ultimately shared duties between the pipes with Martin Gerber. Emery ended the season with a 12-13-4 record and a modest save percentage of .890. His opponents claimed he was the main reason the Senators fell apart. But even if that’s completely true, it’s pathetic. These are grown men that are paid millions of dollars for this job. How can they be distracted by one guy who would rather be partying than on the ice sometimes? Yeah, he should have been more mature given the high investment that the Senators had in him. But what can you do? Think about it, readers, is there someone at your work that doesn’t always want to be there and needs a slap in the face? Of course there is! So why has this been such a big deal? After that unfortunate year, Emery signed a $2 million deal (U.S. dollars) with Russian club Atlant Mytishci of the new Continental Hock ...
Anytime
