The Blame Game

OK, I was off for two weeks, had some family things to take care of.

Well it finally happened, John Paddock coach of the Ottawa Senators was fired. Granted it had only been a matter of time. After getting off to a blistering 15-2 start the team lost 7 in a row and proceeded to play .500 or worse from that point on. A team that had built a massive point cushion in the early weeks squandered it, playing easily their worst hockey after a huge 3-2 victory on home ice over the Detroit Red Wings. And while it still maintained one of the best offenses in the NHL, the team was porous defensively and average to terrible in goal. So it was, after back to back shutout losses to division rivals Toronto and Boston that Paddock was axed. Of course, it wasn't his fault.

No the blame for Paddocks canning was dropped right into the lap of the teams resident problem child, goaltender Ray Emery. Last years savior between the pipes has become a pariah in Ottawa and a lightning rod for controversy. Be it his encounters with local authorities while driving his giant white Hummer, flashy attire, tardiness and half-hearted approach to practice Emery shouldered most if not all the blame for the teams struggles. It was easy to do really because the teams began its downward spiral shortly after Emery's return, but that was purely coincidental.

The reality of the situation is that the team as a whole was not playing well. The red hot start had more to do with the Senators potent offense and other teams early struggles. Ottawas top line would rack up early goals and the team would then be able to take advantage of opponents being forced to open their game up to try and get some goals back. Then suddenly, something changed as other teams broke out of their early season funks and began taking it to the Senators. Teams began to aggressively forecheck Ottawa, to drive the net and physically harass the Senators top forwards. Suddenly the teams offense sputtered and the defense was ridden into the ice under a pile of opposing sweaters. Goalie Martin Gerber couldn't stop a beach ball from hitting the net. Yet somehow this was not the fault of the players on the ice, it was the fault of the 9.5 million dollar Emery.

Calls for Emery's trade or outright dismissal were long and loud on sports talk radio, television and the pages of local newspapers. After all, the team was playing fine until he had returned from off-season wrist surgery. Obviously his tardiness and lackadaisical approach to practice was distracting the team and causing all the off and on-ice issues that were dragging the team down. His fat new contract was also putting pressure on Gerber who was stumbling because of it. Suuuure, that's it. No other logical explanation. John Paddock even said as much after his dismissal, stating that his inability or unwillingness to take Emery to task had undermined his ability to coach the team.

Thing is this is nothing new with Ray Emery. Last year he took the same approach, was late for practice, didn't work hard during team skates and generally did his own thing. That seemed to be fine with everyone both on the team and in management because the Senators were winning and went to the Stanley Cup Finals. Emery had stepped in to replace a struggling Gerber early last year and had helped right the ship and was instrumental in Ottawas post-season run. Everyone had been willing to turn a blind eye to Emery's apparent insubordination so long as he kept pucks out of the net. The same did not hold true this year however, for once the team went into the tank those same actions suddenly became a liability. My question is how can the teams incredible collapse be the fault of Ray Emery?

The Senators are a team loaded with All Star talent and veteran leadership. From ten year veterans like Daniel Alfredsson, Wade Redden and Chris Phillips, flashy offensive leaders in Jason Spezza and Danny Heatley to experienced character players like Mike Fisher, Chris Neil, and Anton Volchenkov. All have been deep into the playoffs, have hundreds of games worth of NHL experience and with the exception of Heatley have played their entire careers in Ottawa. There is no way a third year player like Emery could possibly have such a destructive influence on a team like this. No the roots of Ottawas flop run much deeper then one malcontent.

You need only watch a handful of games the Senators have played in recent months to see to the real problems. Outside of the big three of Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson almost no forwards are scoring. Mike Fisher is currently mired in a 15 game goalless streak, Antoine Vermette shows up maybe one game out of every four, Randy Robitaille is showing Ottawa fans why 29 other teams have had no interest in his services the past two years and Chris Neil has been a shadow of the player he was last year. Instead of a hard, aggressive forecheck the Senators keep trying to dangle and drag the puck into the offensive zone, looking for the perfect play rather then go for the dirty goals. Opposing defensemen simply have to poke check or otherwise shove Ottawa players slightly to knock the puck loose and turn it up ice and Ottawa defense has hardly fared much better.

Early on it looked like the top three blue liners for the Senators would be up for the Norris Trophy. The duo of Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov were shutting down the leagues bets forwards while putting up points and impressive +/- stats(at one point both were topping +30). Joe Corvo was an offensive wizard who was working the power play and springing forwards with stretch passes. Even much maligned Wade Redden was playing well enough to keep most people off his back. Not anymore though. Now Ottawas defense is under siege every night, with opposing forwards hitting everything in sight while Senator forwards hover around the face off circles looking for passes rather then helping out their teammates. Turn-overs and give aways
have become the norm in Ottawas end and whichever goaltender is in net is usually in for a long night. Even in games Ottawa has won they've been sloppy, allowing late goals and taking bad penalties.

Despite all this though, Ray Emery gets the blame. The big guns aren't scoring, the veteran leaders look lost and the defense has been porous most nights. There has been no cohesive offensive of defensive style of play and the team currently sits 24th in the NHL in goals allowed, most of them from turn overs or poor defensive coverage. Ottawas crease has become a parking lot for opposing forwards while defensemen pinch in constantly with little risk of giving up an odd man rush. Yeah, I can really see how this is all the fault of a guy who's only played 30 games this year.