Faceoff: Senators goaltending, grow or no, injury bugs
CBS.Sports.com's Wes Goldstein and Erin Brown provide analysis on three topics.
| 1. Is there a goaltending controversy brewing in Ottawa? | |
| Wes Goldstein | Erin Brown |
 Yes, because Martin Gerber is now the goalie Ottawa expected when he was signed before last season. Gerber faltered and was on the trade block all summer after understudy Ray Emery starred in the playoffs and was rewarded with a rich contract extension. But Emery has been sidelined since training camp with a bad wrist and Gerber has reclaimed his job. Both goalies are making more than $3 million, a combined salary that is reasonable for one top-shelf No. 1, but still expensive for a team that is close to the cap and might need to make a move later for its Stanley Cup run. The bigger issue in the short term is what to do when Emery returns. He is supposed to be the starter, but if Gerber stays this hot, it will be impossible to sit him down. This is a problem, although one that most teams wouldn't mind having. |  It isn't so much a controversy as it is an enviable situation for the Senators. Martin Gerber is finally showing he's worth the $3.7 million Ottawa agreed to pay him. Ray Emery, who backstopped the Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals, is close to returning. Considering both have shown they are capable of handling duties as a No. 1 -- and both are earning hefty paychecks as a result -- it can't hurt Ottawa to have the option of starting the goalie with a hot hand. But here is when the situation will turn controversial: when it comes time for Ottawa to balance its payroll and free up cap space to sign Jason Spezza to a long-term deal. No team can afford to spend at least $3 million on both their starting and backup goalies, which is exactly what the Senators will be dishing out if they keep Gerber and Emery next season. |
| 2. Should the NHL pursue or drop the idea of expanding? | |
| Wes Goldstein | Erin Brown |
| Let's get real. The last thing the NHL needs is more teams, particularly in hockey "hotbeds" like Kansas City or Las Vegas, the places considered to be frontrunners for them. If the league was serious about adding a team or two in Canada, that might be worth considering, but even then, it would mean watering down a product that already has been. Truth is the NHL would be better off considering contraction rather than expansion, but there is a better chance of staging an outdoor game in a Sunbelt city than that happening. Expansion is nothing more than a money grab for owners, who will never forgo a chance at one. The fees for new franchises will probably top $200 million and are not considered hockey-related revenue, so they don't have to be put into the pot that's shared with the players. All those dollars are divided by the owners, so greed will obviously win out in the end. | The NHL is still having a difficult time projecting an image of league-wide stability, so expansion should be the last thing on its agenda. The league viewed expanding as a quick way of making a quick buck in the late '90s -- they'd add four teams and owners would collect a chunk of the $320 million generated by entry fees. But it didn't really solve any pressing matters, and Ottawa, Buffalo and Pittsburgh still filed for bankruptcy. The league is in a better situation than it was before the lockout, but there always seems to be at least one franchise in turmoil. Nashville is the latest, and its problems could result in the franchise being moved. It makes more sense for the NHL to prove -- over a long period of time -- it can assure its viability in the markets where it already exists before adding new ones. |
| 3. Which early season injury affects that player's team the most? | |
| Wes Goldstein | Erin Brown |
| It has been a painful start for several teams that have already lost key players. The Chicago Blackhawks will be without Martin Havlat for at least a month and, according to some reports, most of the season, while the Nashville Predators are without a great young defenseman in Shea Weber. But I think the player whose absence will be felt the most is Sean Avery of the New York Rangers. Havlat's injury devastated Chicago last season, but that team is much deeper now and will be forced to give rookies like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews more responsibility. The Predators have a strong blue line group. But in New York, where a superstar-laden lineup looks like it still needs time to jell, missing the kind of unique and intense energy Avery has brought since he joined the team last season is going to be felt a lot more than people realize. | Look at the Ducks' injury report and take your pick. The absence of Jean-Sebastien Giguere has been quite glaring for Anaheim, which is off to a miserable 1-3-1 start. And it hasn't helped the Ducks to be without one of the league's top defensive forwards in Samuel Pahlsson or former All-Star defenseman Mathieu Schneider. The loss of Martin Havlat is big for the Blackhawks but probably won't appear as obvious as it was when he was out of the lineup last season because there are more veterans for the team to lean on. Still, the winger is just one of two Chicago players to record a 30-goal season in his career, and his absence places more pressure on the Blackhawks younger players to contribute more quickly. Tampa Bay appears to be surviving without Dan Boyle quarterbacking its power play, but that could change quickly if Filip Kuba shows he's not capable of filling the defenseman's role over the long haul. |
