Snoop is a Sens fan? Who knew?!?
With Martin Biron being a free agent, you have to figure the focus of the Flyers brass shifted to the crease the moment the orange and black got bounced in the first round. There were a few rumors about a potential move for Canucks star Roberto Luongo but for the most part things had been all quiet on the Flyers front up to this point.
Now the rumor mill has started up again, only this time Ray Emery is the subject and it looks like he is very close to coming to Philly. Reaction to the potential move has been pretty positive so far, which is surprising given the fact that the last time Emery played in the NHL he was putting up mediocre numbers and getting himself kicked out of Ottawa for having a very T.O.-like attitude.
Regardless of how you feel about Emery, I’ll tell you right now why the Flyers are taking such a long, hard look at him: it’s all about the benjamins baby! (Sorry for that, I couldn’t help it.) Think about it, would you want to re-sign Marty for about $5 mil a year (his rumored asking price) or go with a high risk, high reward Siberian sensation (he did play extremely well in the KHL last season) like Emery for $1.2-1.5 mil? That extra dough could be used in any number of ways including bringing in a high-priced defenseman such as Jay Bouwmeester.
“What’s the problem then?!?” you may be thinking, “Let’s get this guy on board!” While I appreciate your enthusiasm, there’s just one problem with this scenario.
Ray Emery isn’t really that good.
Look at his career totals in Ottawa…outside of one excellent season where he helped the Sens get to the Cup Finals Emery was entirely unimpressive. Even looking back to the ’06-’07 playoffs, his .907 save percentage was pretty pedestrian (aka in Marty Biron territory.) Another problem is Emery’s inconsistency: he had three shutouts in those playoffs, but he also had eight games with a save percentage below .900 (aka Chris Osgood territory.) Is that really the kind of guy who is going to backstop the Flyers to the Promised Land?
You can say whatever you want about how Emery’s emotional nature reminds you of Hextall, how he is still young (26), how well he played in Russia and how that experience made him appreciate the NHL, or how fiscally this move makes a lot of sense. At the end of the day can you honestly say to yourself that Emery is an upgrade over Martin Biron? Ray may be a bargain, but he isn’t the big name goalie this team needs to take their game to the next level and beat the Pittsburghs and Detroits of the hockey world. Isn’t that all that really matters?
I guess it all depends on whether or not the Flyers feel like goaltending is a position they can pinch pennies on, but the potential for success is there. If Emery pans out his addition could be looked upon as fondly as the Brad Lidge trade amongst Philadelphians, but if it doesn’t Emery’s inconsistency on and off the ice could tear apart a team with valid Stanley Cup aspirations. That’s not the kind of chance you take when your team is a few scant additions away from an offseason with Lord Stanley.
