Gerber a... boost? In Binghamton?

Okay, maybe that title is a little bit harsh. There has never been any issue with the personality that Martin Gerber brought to his teams. He just hasn't been consistent or reliable enough on the ice. But still, it is interesting to see that his demotion to the Binghamton Senators has helped that team compensate for their loss of an AHL All-Star (Brian Elliott) and maintain their presence in the AHL's playoff race.

According to an article in the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin, Gerber has, indeed, been a pretty valuable addition to the B-Sens--particularly in terms of leadership. His statistics certainly haven't been mind-blowing, with a record of 6-5, one shutout, 2.57GAA, and 0.920SP. Still, his devotion to the game and to his new team appear to be pretty valuable to his teammates. From the story:

Indeed, for the man who opened last fall as the No. 1 goaltender in Ottawa, little has gone according to plan this season. But in a potentially prickly situation - a $3.7 million goaltender, assigned to Binghamton 24 days ago after a disappointing season in the NHL - he has continued to make a smooth transition onto his new team.

"It's been awesome," said goaltender Jeff Glass, whose locker sits next to Gerber's at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. "I've never once heard him complain, or argue. ... From the second he came down here, he was asking questions about what place we were in. And he really joined with this team, and jelled with this team.

[...]

The Ottawa Sun also reported last month that "it's almost a certainty" Gerber will join the Swiss national team for the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Championship, which runs April 24 to May 10 in his native Switzerland. The AHL's regular season ends April 12.

Asked Thursday if the World Championship is indeed in his plans, Gerber said: "The plan is to make the playoffs here, and go deep there. That's the plan. And you know, whatever happens after that, I haven't really thought about it."

[...]

"It would be easy to pack it in," he said. "But you're a professional, and you want to play hockey after all. And there's certain stuff in hockey you can't control. And there's people involved who make decisions, and all you can do is put your best effort out there. And hopefully you get to a point where it's good enough to play where you want to play."

Binghamton currently sits in fourth place in the East Division with 66 points, six ahead of fith-place Philadelphia. As the top four seeds in each division make the playoffs, they are currently sitting pretty in a playoff spot for the first time since 2005--but with another 25 games left in the season, Gerber and Glass are going to have to keep their games in top notch form if they're going to hold onto that playoff spot.

Gerber to be waived

According to reports on Bingo blogger Michael Sharp's blog, assistant GM Tim Murray has said that Martin Gerberwill be put on waivers today, available to any teams interested.

"We've sent out a memo to the other teams saying he was available. And he'll go on waivers (Thursday), and then we'll just have to see what happens there. If he doesn't get picked up, he's going to have a meeting with Bryan (on) Monday or so, and then we'll have to make a decision."

This may mean that GM Bryan Murray knows of at least one team that may be interested in picking up Gerber from the waiver wire, but it definitely means that Brian Elliott has passed his first test with the Ottawa Senators in the NHL; Tim Murray said "he's no longer an American Hockey League player as of now" and that Elliott won't be playing in the AHL All-Star Game.

There are a few options right now for Gerber. First, obviously, he could be picked up on waivers, or possibly re-entry waivers, by another NHL team. Alternatively, he could pass through waivers and return to the AHL, but that doesn't seem like a real possibility given Tim Murray's comments on Sharp on the Sens ("Let's worry about that when we get there. There's so many different things that could happen. And that's a very good possibility obviously. Europe's a possibility also. So, I think we just cross that bridge when we get there"). Finally, an arrangement could be made between the Senators and a European team, wherein that team would have the rights to Gerber for the rest of the season in exchange for some compensation, likely just paying the rest of Gerber's contract.

In his three-game AHL "conditioning stint", Gerber allowed seven goals on 108 shots for a goals-against average of 2.37 and a save percentage of 0.935 and had one shutout (a 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Phantoms).

With Gerber seemingly gone, the Binghamton Senators will likely move forward with Jeff Glass as the starter and Mitch O'Keefe, recently called up from the ECHL's Elmira Jackals, backing him up.

1. Glass (for Bingo): 13GPI, 3W, 7L, 2OTL, 41GA, 3.63GAA, 348S 0.895SP
2. O'Keefe (for Elmira): 24GP, 13W, 9L, 1OTL, 71GA, 3.09GAA, 579S 0.891SP, 1SO, 2A

Unfortunately for Binghamton fans, neither of the above-mentioned goalies have very impressive statistics. Still, Glass was a third-round pick (89th overall) in 2004 and has won the CHL and WHL goaltender of the year awards in 2004-05, and won the gold medal with Team Canada in the World Junior Championships that same year. I guess you could say he's got a lot or potential to live up to.

(Special thanks to Rob Glass of Binghamton's WHRW-FM 90.5 Radio for bringing this to my attention.)

At least the B-Sens are winning

The Binghamton Senators are now 4-0-1, with four wins and a shootout loss in their first five games. They are tied for second place in the league, just a point behind league-leading Hershey Bears, with a game in hand. And they're winning games with a pretty strong defence, too, with just nine goals against in the five games (or about 1.8 per game).

Goaltender Jeff Glass is second in the league in both goals-against average (1.00) and save percentage (.960), although he's only played on game, and started Brian Elliott has been extremely strong, fifth in goals-against average (1.68) and sixth in save percentage (.940).

Defencemen Brendan Bell and Tomas Kudelka have four and three points, respectively, and the defence will only get better if Brian Lee is down there for a little while.

Secondary scoring has become primary scoring, as Zack Smith, Ilya Zubov, and Ryan Shannon are outscoring Denis Hamel and Josh Hennessy--the latter two were last year's leading scorers.

As described so well by the big man in B-Sens land Mike Sharp, Bingo's enforcers are protecting their skilled players: Mixed martial-arts veteran Jeremy Yablonski (who I'd love to see up here for a game) pummeled Tim Conboy after the Albany defenceman kneed captain Hamel (who, unfortunately, is expected to miss 3-4 weeks after the event). And then to add insult to injury, Smith dangled around Conboy to tie the game in the third period, and then won it in overtime--make them pay physically AND on the scoreboard. Genius.

How come the Binghamton Senators seem to have addressed all the problems the Ottawa Senators seem to be dealing with right now?

At least it's reassuring that prospects like Elliott, Glass, Smith, Zubov, and Kudelka, along with guys like Mattias Karlsson and Peter Regin are developing as expected. They may be called on for help sooner rather than later.

Rangers 2, (B-)Sens 1

The Sens dressed a scoring-challenged lineup, leaving Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredsson, and Mike Fisher all out for the final half of the home-and-home against the New York Rangers. It showed. The Sens only managed 22 shots, including 10 in the third, and lost the game by a 2-1 score that looked better than it was (thanks to the Sens' goalies). Another sloppy game brings the Sens' pre-season record to 1-1.

The biggest storyline might be Wade Redden playing his first game against his old team. It's about what you'd expect: He was on for all three goals, and--although not being tagged for any giveaways--he (apparently, I didn't see it) didn't look good on the Sens' only goal.

For Ottawa, everyone was talking about Alex Auld getting a chance to impress coach Craig Hartsburg, and impress he did tonight. As good as Martin Gerber looked on Saturday night, Auld was challenged more often, and usually met those challenges (although he had some help from the posts). Of the two goals, the first was weak, but the second was a tip after the Sens weren't able to clear the puck. In fact, I'd blame the second goal on Antoine Vermette, who had a golden shooting opportunity but tried to deke, got smoked, lost the puck, and had it come up the ice until the Rangers were able to put it past Auld. I didn't get to see Jeff Glass, but he stopped all eight shots he faced, so couldn't have been too bad.

The Sens' best forward was probably Nick Foligno, who caused a few turnovers and played a strong game. Close after was Dean McAmmond, who scored the Sens' only goal, and also caused quite a few turnovers. With the log-jam at forward, McAmmond needed to show something in the pre-season, and he did a pretty good job tonight. On a line with D-Mac was Brad Isbister, and there appeared to be some reasonable chemistry between the two--but don't hold you breath for Isbister to make the team. Finally, Ilya Zubov had a great scoring chance, and--according to the official scoresheet--threw three hits. The Sens' best hit was Jarkko Ruutu on Brandon Dubinsky, an open-ice collision that knocked Doobie off the puck.

On defence, Brendan Bell looked better than I'd expected, and certainly made a case for himself. I would be surprised if he's in the round of cuts tomorrow. Luke Richardson looked pretty good, too, playing 17 minutes, including some penalty-kill time. Still, Richardson still has a way to go, but he might travel to Sweden as part of the roster.

On the other side of the ledger, Brian Lee has something to prove. He got beat on a breakaway tonight, and had to tak a penalty and rely on a great Auld pokecheck to prevent a goal. But then he got an assist, and, although I didn't see the goal, that's got to mean something. Also, Ryan Shannon was certainly exposed as the undersized player he is. Although he had some opportunities, he rarely if ever was able to win a battle, and was often muscled off the puck.

So a bunch of cuts will come tomorrow morning, probably at least a dozen, maybe 16 players will head to the Binghamton training camp. Next game will be on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers in Ottawa; the Flyers won on Monday night 4-1. The Sens should dress a lineup that will look a lot like the one they'll start the regular season with, so stay tuned tomorrow morning.

Preview: Sens @ Rangers

Finally, the Senators will get the opportunity to play against Wade Redden. It will be interesting to see how some of his former teammates respond, and how some of the newcomers--signings, trades, and up-and-coming rookies--treat the player who, until Monday night, will never have played an NHL game in any other jersey. And, of course, how Redden responds.

The game will also be Alex Auld's first test in a Sens jersey, so keep an eye out for what he's got to show. Jeff Glass is scheduled to take over for the third period.

Only one cut has been made since Saturday night, with Jim O'Brien being sent back to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. I was hoping that after his showing in the rookie camp O'Brien would be playing in Binghamton, but he'll certainly get plenty of ice time in the WHL.

In other news, Alexandre Picard was complaining about soreness in his groin (what's going on here? First Daniel Alfredsson, now Picard?), so Chris Phillips will take his place in the lineup. According to the Ottawa Sun, Alfredsson might be playing against Philadelphia on Tuesday (EDIT: the game against Philly is on Wednesday, not Tuesday).

No word on what the line combinations are, but the Sens official site has said that the lineup will include Chris Kelly, Dean McAmmond, Shean Donovan, Anton Volchenkov, Cody Bass, Nick Foligno, Ryan Shannon, Brendan Bell, and Luke Richardson.

EDIT: Nothing on local TV, but it's on MSG so you should be able to see the game on NHL Centre Ice. The game is, of course, on TEAM 1200.

Are the Sens that bad? Part three: Goaltending

After reading about Ottawa's forwards and defence being (on paper) better than people seem to be giving them credit for, there is still the (arguably) most important position on the team: the goaltender.

GOALTENDING

Perhaps the most contentious issue of the last three years has been goaltending. Dominik Hasek made way to Ray Emery, who made way (unwillingly) to Martin Gerber, who lost his job to Emery, who then lost his job (through unjury) to Gerber, who lost his job to Emery, who didn't appear to want it and gave it back to Gerber, and so on. Gerber played well at the start of 2007-08, and then--under pressure from Emery and uncertainty from then-head coach John Paddock--lost his consistency and couldn't regain it until, one could (and I would) argue, the 2008 playoffs.

In order to answer all question, Gerber could simply return to the form he had at the start of the 2007-08 season, and maintain it through the season into the playoffs and, ultimately, the 2009 Stanley Cup finals. That would be great if you could do it, Marty. But since there are no guarantees of that (although I think he certainly is able to return to that form), there are viable alternatives.

Alex Auld was brought in to replace Emery after he was bought out and went to Russia to re-start his career, and his strength of character and ability to bounce back has been extolled by many as one of his greatest attributes. His stats, though, are nothing to scoff at. On his career he's got a 2.85 GAA and a .903 SV%. Stints with the Florida Panthers and Phoenix Coyotes are bringing down those stats, and some of his best hockey was last season with the Boston Bruins (9W, 7L, 5OTL, 2.32GAA, .919SV%). After Auld, minor-leaguers Brian Elliott and Jeff Glass are hoping to make an impression during training camp, but GM Bryan Murray seems to be of the opinion that they will need at least one more season in the AHL before stepping into the big leagues.

There are questions surrounding the abilities of Gerber and Auld, no doubt about it. Both have demonstrated an ability to win games. Gerber has in the past--for the Senators, Hurricanes, and the Swiss National Team in international play--been able to steal games. If he regains his confidence and plays like he can, and the team develops a more responsible defensive style, there is no reason to think this team won't be able to win 2-1 and 3-2 games.

Project Hennessy: To be continued

I didn't expect to see it happen, but the Senators' brass have decided against ending the Josh Hennessy project and re-signed the centreman to a two-year two-way contract. I haven't found financial terms of the deal yet, but I can't see it being worth any more than the $565K Hennessy made last season.

Although he'll have a chance to make the NHL squad in training camp, Hennessy will likely re-join the Binghamton Senators for the third season in a row, with a few mid-season call-ups if the big team runs into injuries. In 152 AHL games over the last two seasons, Hennessy has scored 49G and 59A for 108P total.

The signing retains the services of one asset we received in the Martin Havlat trade, along with 2008 second-round pick Patrick Wiercoch and I think Michal Barinka is still technically a Sens prospect.

The Sens also re-signed goaltending prospect Jeff Glass to a one-year, two-way deal earlier in the week. It is, according to NHLScap, worth $550k.

Sad But True

I presume that Bryan Murray is waking up in someone's rec room right now, wearing one of those Canada Day-themed umbrella hats. He, like many Senators GMs over the past 16 years, has taken the cautious route in both trades and free agency. Murray sat back and enjoyed his Canada Day.

Murray made one roster move of note yesterday between buck-a-beers and singing 15-second renditions of Tommy Tutone's classic "Jenny". That would be signing career backup goaltender Alex Auld to a two-year contract.

This leaves the Sens with a fierce tandem of backup goalies and no hope of consistency in the crease this upcoming season. No one really expected the Sens to be big players in the high-priced goaltender market, but I'm not sure what this move signals to Martin Gerber and the Senators future #1 goaltender (if such a savior exists outside of my wildest dreams).

The fact that it's a two-year contract means that Auld will likely be the transition goaltender should one of the Bingo goalies (Likely Brian Elliot; less likely, Jeff Glass) be given a shot at the Big League next season. (And yes, I am presuming Gerber will not re-sign with the Sens - and don't pretend like anyone has thought differently since the end of Year 1 of this three-year curse of a contract).

But long-term thinking aside, I would have preferred Olaf Kolzig. In 2002-03, this goaltender had 2 playoff wins - unheard of on the current Sens roster.

But give credit to Auld, he will likely challenge Gerber for starts this season. In fact, Don Brennan peered into his crystal ball and stated the depression reality of the situation:

"I'm predicting he'll be the team's No. 1 goalie by Christmas."

Sad but true.

Goalies in Ottawa: A history of mediocrity

James Duthie wrote an interesting piece for the Ottawa Citizen last week about the Sens' historical problems with goaltenders, notably finding someone who can steal games for the team in the playoffs.

In it, Duthie goes over a list of goaltenders that the Sens could have drafted, which is an excercise in futility. If you look at the list of 'could-have-beens', you'll be left with 29 teams that missed a diamond in the rough, and you'll spend days, weeks, or months examining it. The fact of the matter is that judging goaltending talent is not an easy task, especially when the players are at the young age of only 17 or 18.

Examining a list of recent goaltending prospects the Sens have drafted, you can see that the team has not properly assessed, or at least addressed, its most glaring weakness:

1. 2006 (5): Ryan Daniels
2. 2004 (3): Jeff Glass
3. 2003 (9): Brian Elliott
4. 2001 (4): Ray Emery
5. 1999 (2): Simon Lajeunesse
6. 1999 (6): Martin Prusek
7. 1998 (1): Mathieu Chouinard
8. 1997 (2): Jani Hurme
9. 1994 (4): Bryan Masotta
10. 1994 (9): Frederic Cassivi
11. 1993 (3): Patrick Charbonneau
12. 1993 (9): Tony Kvalevog
13. 1992 (11): Petter Ronnquist
    

Maybe Glass or Elliott are going to be great NHL goaltenders. But they certainly aren't there yet. There is a glaring need in the Senators front office, and that is a department to focus on addressing the biggest need for the Senators: goaltending.

Any Goaltending Department the Senators set up should include one or more scouts for the sole purpose of assessing the talent of goaltending prospects, and making judgements on them. Not only undrafted prospects, but also individuals playing on other teams who haven't been given the opportunity to develop properly.

Secondly, there is a need for goaltending coaches. Not only for the NHL squad, but also--and maybe more importantly--for the Binghamton team. Ron Low may have been a good goaltending coach, but he failed to show his abilities. As for Eli Wilson, the gong show surrounding how he was brought in--seemingly on the whim of Emery--really makes me wonder how effective or appropriate it was to have him in the organization. Well-respected former goaltenders who've made a successful transition into coaching are certainly rare, but the Senators need to find a way to have their goaltending prospects developed into true NHL players, and to keep them at the top of their game.

In his search for a head coach, maybe Bryan Murray should look for someone who's friendly with a good goalie coach. And maybe Eugene Melnyk or Roy Mlakar should recruit for the formation of a Goaltending Department.

More reinforcements from Bingo

According to Michael Sharp, blogger on the Binghamton Senators, the Ottawa Senators are going to receive three more reserve players from the B-Sens after they finished their season Sunday night.

Two days after Alexander Nikulin was recalled, Sharp quoted B-Sens coach Cory Clouston that goalie Jeff Glass as well as defencemen Larry Nycholat and Matt Carkner were also on their way up. Including all of our Black Aces and injured players, the Sens roster now has 29 bodies. That's a lot of spares, but I guess we've got a lot of injuries.

Reinforcement(s) for game against Atlanta

The Sens brought Cody Bass up from Binghamton today as a replacement for Brian McGrattan, as Grats seems to still be recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered against Pittsburgh.

Bass has eight point (3G, 5A) in 24 games with the B-Sens, and is 6'0" and 211 lbs. Not the same size as McGrattan, but his style of play is probably more suited to a fourth-line shift than either of the Sens' blue-chip Russian prospects, Ilya Zubov and Alexander Nikulin. I'm not sure why Danny Bois wasn't called up, though; he's got more points than Bass, but it may just be to give a younger player a chance (Bass is 20, Bois is 27). It could also be that whoever is called up will be limited in their role, and so bringing an important player like Bois up to play 3 minutes a game is unnecessary when he'd be playing significantly more for the B-Sens in tonight's game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. It would also have been fun to see Jeremy Yablonski up on this team, just to see Yabo smoke someone mixed-martial-arts style.

For some unknown reason, HockeyBuzz.com is reporting that the Sens also called Jeff Glass up from Bingo to back up Martin Gerber tonight. I'm not sure where this information comes from, but no other news source is reporting it--and, in fact, reputable news sources are reporting that Ray Emery is going to be the backup--so I find it hard to believe. Now, I don't want to be overly harsh, but if this in fact turns out to be false, you have to wonder where 'information' like this comes from:

"Jeff Glass has been re-called from Binghamton of the AHL to back-up Martin Gerber tonight when the Atlanta Thrashers come to town. The limo was waiting for Glass immediately following the Baby Sens 4-3 win over Syracuse."

-from HockeyBuzz.com

I guess time will tell. All the best to BassMaster in tonight's game, although John Paddock has said that he's going to get limited ice time--if any.

On the farm: weekly Binghamton update

If Alexander Nikulin was angry with being assigned back to the B-Sens of the AHL after a forgettable two-game stint with Ottawa, it sure didn't affect his performance. After missing a game due to visa problems (how do the Sens let that happen? Come on, Tim Murray!), Nikulin scored once and set up three goals in a 4-0 blanking of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Denis Hamel scored twice, while Jeremy Yablonski rounded out the scoring and Ilya Zubov notched two assists. Jeff Glass got the shutout.

The next night must have been an amazing game to watch, and ended with an 8-5 victory over the Norfolk Admirals. After going down 5-4 in the third, the B-Sens rallied to score four unanswered in less than nine minutes to settle the score. Yabo extended what must be a career-high goal-scoring streak to two games. Hamel scored another two goals, giving him an AHL-leading 16 on the year. Larry Nycholat scored once and added three assists, and Niko Dimitrakos assisted on three consecutive goals, including the game-tying and game-winning goals.

As mentioned, Hamel now leads the league in goals, and his five goals over three games earned him AHL player of the week honours.

Binghamton earned 5 of a possible 6 points this past week, and is now 5-0-1-1 in he past seven games. Their record is 11-8-2-1 overall, worth 25 points and good for fourth in the AHL's East Division.

Top five scorers for Bingo, as of Dec. 3:

1. Denis Hamel: 22GP, 16G, 6A, 22P
2. Alexander Nikulin: 16GP, 4G, 11A, 15P
3. Larry Nycholat: 22GP, 2G, 13A, 15P
4. Niko Dimitrakos: 17GP, 8G, 6A, 14P
5. Josh Hennessy: 21GP, 5G, 9A, 14P
   

Notes from Binghamton

The newest news of the B-Sens:

• Alexander "Sputnik" Nikulin wrote a new blog entry about his first North American pro goal. He also mentioned Ray Emery's games on the farm, noting that while Rayzor wasn't outstanding, he was classy. Apparently Sputnik's also received a shipment of his favourite type of stick;
  

  "I'm happy that I received some of my favourite sticks, which I'm very much used to, I even scored my first goal with one of them. Hopefully it won't be the last, either in the AHL or in the NHL."

• Since Brian Elliott is back on his way to Bingo, the B-Sens released Joel Martin, who'd served as Jeff Glass' backup. They'll run with Elliott and Glass as the tandem.
• Mattias Karlsson, Ottawa's 4th round pick in 2003, played his first game for Bingo on Saturday against Hershey. Scouting report by Tim Murray: "Moves the puck well. Power-play type guy. Just hope he can bring a bit of offense to a group that's holding our sticks too tight right now, and having a hard time scoring." He was -1 with 2 shots in his debut. He had 32 points in 44 games for Bofors IK of the Swedish league Allsvenskan. At 6'2 and 192 pounds, he's apparently able to play physical and not afraid to hit.
• Blue-chip prospects Nikulin, Brian Lee, and Ilya Zubov are all tied for the team lead in points with Danny Bois, who I guess is still a good prospect.
  
• After fog problems on the ice for Bingo's home opener, management has initiated a "The Fog has Cleared" promotion, offering ticket rebates. Hilarious.
• Nik Dimitrakos is leading the team in goal-scoring. I think that was the intention of signing him, so it's always nice when something works out.
  
• Binghamton (1-2 on the year) will play two games against the Norfolk Admirals (1-3) this weekend. Although Emery stole the show in their first win, Elliott has a pretty good shot of stealing a game or two at the AHL level. If Denis Hamel can pick up his scoring pace, the B-Sens will be fine.