Ray Emery

February 19, 2008 -- I miss the days when players used to play simply because they wanted to win the Cup. That and they wanted to get paid a lot of money. I know that most players still get motivated to win the Cup but there is one guy who apparently doesn’t and that’s Ottawa goalie Ray Emery. He’s on record as saying that he has a hard time getting motivated to go out and win and I find that lame.

Emery has always been a different cat and has a history of weird stories. First it was his goalie mask adorned with a picture of Mike Tyson. Next, his oversleeping for a charter flight taking the team to a playoff game. Subsequently, he was involved in a traffic accident as he raced to the airport to try and catch the plane. Last summer, there was an alleged incident of road rage when Emery apparently tried to run a motorist of the road. In the span of a few months this guy has gone from NHL elite goaltender to “tonight on TMZ….” It’s really pretty sad.

As if all that wasn’t enough, things have escalated for Emery this season. He showed up late to practice earlier this season and Senators coach John Paddock tossed Emery from practice, later publicly questioning his work ethic. The expulsion from practice came a day after Emery had a tantrum on the ice and purposely broke a stick. That incident drew a fine of almost $15,000—a day’s pay for Emery. How in the world do you make $15K per day and not find the motivation to show up to work on time?

"I've never been a guy that's on time all the time, but I was disappointed in not getting here on time [Friday]," Emery said. "I didn't know who saw [Thursday's tantrum], but I just got mad, mainly at myself, because I've been having trouble getting motivated on the ice." Ah, I miss the days when making crazy money, playing on the top team in the Eastern Conference and having a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup was motivation enough.

If Emery were playing like, well, like Ray Emery, then a lot of this would be swept under the rug as more quirky moments from a goalie. But after signing a 3-year $9.5 million contract in the off-season, Emery is playing like a journeyman backup—not like the goalie that led his team to the Stanley Cup Finals last June.

In 25 games this season Emery is 10-10-3 with a GAA of 3.06 and a .892 save percentage. Hard to believe that he could post such poor numbers on an elite club like the Senators. Compare his current stats with his numbers from last year (33-16-6, 2.47 GAA and .918 save percentage) and you can see why Paddock has gone with former Anaheim Duck Martin Gerber, another of J.S. Giguere’s backups now a legitimate number one elsewhere. But back to Emery…

This guy is just a straight up train wreck. He almost makes Britney look mellow. Almost.

Emery once notoriously made a $500 bet with Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, which required Emery to eat a cockroach that had been found on the floor of a Carolina dressing room. He won the bet, and used the money to get another tattoo on his right arm, which reads, "Anger is a Gift." Yeah, I guess it’s a gift. But it seems to me that Emery has enough anger already. He also owns a python named Brendan, after his childhood friend. Does that mean that his friend is a snake?

Last week, Emery made headlines across North America, claiming that he and his white Hummer get pulled over by the police three or four times per week.

Most decent people are rightly concerned when confronted with the idea that a black man would be pulled over for no reason other than the color of his skin. If Emery is implying that race is a factor (he hasn’t said so directly), in this case we must take a critical eye toward the claim, considering Emery’s recent string of odd behaviors. While the idea that a black man driving a Hummer is “probable cause” for a traffic stop is repugnant, Emery’s conflicting claims raise suspicion.

"I wasn't given a warning for anything, I will say that," Emery said. "He pulled me over for no reason. I question why I get pulled over for so much here." Emery claims that the cop pulled him over for driving with a suspended license, which was not the case.

However, police sources state that Emery allegedly cut off the police cruise and was aggressive with the officer. I have no problem believing that part of the story. Nevertheless, Emery was not ticketed for the incident.

To make the situation even more confusing, Emery wondered aloud to the Canadian Press whether he could be getting pulled over "because (the Hummer) is licensed to a dealer, so when they (the police) read the plates, it doesn't show up, 'Ray Emery.'"

For fifteen grand a day, you think the guy could get his own plates so as not to invite such trouble.

Emery’s poor decision-making is obviously no impediment to his suggestion that the blame for his troubles lie anywhere other than the mirror.

The bottom line is that Ray Emery is a mess and something needs to happen. The trade deadline is this week and I find it difficult to believe that Ottawa GM Bryan Murray will be able to trade Emery for anything of value. I mean, if he can’t get motivated to be the number one guy on the number one team in the East, then why should any of us believe that he would be motivated to take the ice in Chicago on a Sunday evening against the Blue Jackets? I don’t and neither should you.

EMAIL JASON: JASON@REEDWRITING.NET
 

BACK TO JASON REED MAIN PAGE

JASON'S BLOG

HOCKEYTALK HOME