Oilers Sign Martin Gerber (Updated)
Jonathan Willis
August 07 2010 10:08AM
The Edmonton Oilers goaltending situation got a little more confused earlier today, when they brought NHL veteran Martin Gerber home after a one-year exile to the KHL. Gerber has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $500,000 in the NHL and $200,000 in the AHL.
According to Nick Kypreos, who broke the signing, the Oilers have Gerber pegged as the #3/#4 goaltender in the system. Whether Gerber’s going to be given a chance to climb higher or lower than that is anyone’s guess, but based on his track record he has to be considered a comparable performer to younger goalies Jeff Deslauriers and Devan Dubnyk.
The most likely situation is that Gerber begins the season in the AHL. Whether he has some company there in the form of Deslauriers or Dubnyk is going to be dependent on whether Nikolai Khabibulin ends up in prison to start the season and of course the vagaries of the NHL waiver wire.
At the AHL level, Gerber is a more than competent starter. He had an 0.914 SV% in the KHL last year and has consistently been an 0.900 SV% goaltender at the NHL level, and of course he was brilliant for Switzerland at last year’s World Championships. There is little doubt that he can step in and be a top-10 goaltender in the American League.
The question is whether he might be more than that or not. In a rebuilding year, the obvious answer is ‘no;’ after all, the Oilers have spent years developing Deslauriers and Dubnyk and presumably they see upside in those two that simply isn’t there with Gerber. However, in this case the obvious answer might not be the correct one.
If we assume that the Oilers want and need Khabibulin insurance, something that seems likely given not only his legal troubles but also his health and age, than Gerber fits the bill better than either youngster. He can play in the AHL and have success, and the Oilers can save some money if he gets stuck there – unlike Deslauriers and Dubnyk, both on one way deals. He can fill in at the NHL level and have success, and certainly ought to be able to post numbers as good (or better) than either of the young goaltenders did last year. At the same time, there isn’t much upside to Gerber, and it’s hard to see an NHL team wanting him badly enough to claim him on waivers and keep him as their NHL backup – whereas one. In short, it’s a role he fits better than the more expensive Jeff Deslauriers (and once again I'm forced to wonder why Deslauriers was qualified).
Of course, there’s always the off-chance that Gerber outplays both of the kids and has a significant NHL role next season. It’s not something I’d put money on, but he’s taken less money to get another crack at the NHL so he’s clearly motivated, and his track record certainly suggests he’s capable of high-end performances from time to time.
Regardless of what happens, this was a fantastic signing by Steve Tambellini.
I'd also recommend David Staples' excellent article on the move.
UPDATE: OLCZYK COMMENTS
Via Tyler Dellow, I see that Oilers assistant general manager Rick Olczyk has talked to the Sun's Rob Tychowski about the Gerber signing. The whole article is worth a read, as Olczyk goes into the Khabibulin situation and repeatedly affirms both his personal belief and the belief of the Oilers' organization that Khabibulin will be the team's starting goaltender next year, and denies rumours that the team might look to cut him if he misses training camp. In any case, Olczyk praised Gerber and stressed that the signing had nothing to do with Khabibulin:
“It had nothing at all to do with that,” Olczyk said of Khabibulin’s impending trial on extreme DUI charges in Scottsdale. “He had a tremendous year in the KHL and we needed to fill a void. We felt it was the right move and the right player at this particular point in time. It has nothing at all, and I’d like to stress that, it has nothing to do with Khabby.”
@Crash
Hello ladies,
Look at your goalies, now back to Gerber.
Now back to your goalies, now BACK to Gerber.
Sadly, neither of your goalies are Gerber.
But if they stopped whiffing saves, they could be as good as Gerber.
Look down, back up. Where are you?
You're at an Oilers game with the goalie your goalies could save like.
What's in your hand? Back to the game. Its a beer cup with two tickets to the next Oilers game you love.
Look again. The tickets are NOW a win.
Anything is possible when your goalies save like a man and not a lady.
Save 'em like a man, man.
As I said yesterday
IMO...
Gerber is an insurance policy.
a) If they send down JDD or DD, they won't be able to call that guy up for the whole year without him first clearing re-entry waivers at half price... THAT is no sure thing; they'd likely be snatched up. So, in the case of an injury to one of the two up here, they need another guy they can call up - Martin Gerber.
b) If either JDD or DD gets picked up on waivers after training camp & is unable to show up in OKC, they have no goalie for OKC - Martin Gerber.
c) If Nikki Rehab is in jail, they need another goalie, whether for here or for OKC - Martin Gerber.
Bottom line: they needed an insurance policy of sorts... nothing wrong with Martin Gerber for that role. Who betta...Barry Brust? Andy Chiodo? Scott Munroe?
@Robin Brownlee
Is the team supposed to cut Deslauriers loose? Because he makes too much money? Because he's proven he can't be an NHL goaltender? Because DD has better numbers and is clearly a better prospect? No on all counts.
JDD is 25. What is the point with him at this point? The league is overflowing with goalies who can't find work, goalies who are better than him. In order for it to make sense for the Oilers to sink money into him, there has to be some return at some point.
Say you're right and that JDD turns into a guy who can start 55-60 games, a league average starter. Fantastic. He'll be a UFA by then, with a UFA's cost. Players like that are literally begging for jobs right now.
Why are the Oilers investing in creating something that's basically a free commodity? What's the point?
Gerber " baby food " for young Oilers makes sense to me ?
Maybe he's wondering why JDD was qualified and signed at $1.05MM because there are goalies with far better track records begging for jobs in the NHL and goalies who are likely better in the immediate future taking $500K/$200K deals. Where was JDD going to go if he wasn't qualified?
Also, I think Gregor mentioned this yesterday (may have been someone else)...
... even if Nikki Rehab does get some jail time, it's possible he won't have to serve it until a later specified date - such as next off-season. Mark Bell did this a few years back. I'm not familiar with Arizona law, but doesn't this remain an option?
~And just think how much street-cred he'll get when he goes in... you KNOW a rap album won't be far behind. How cool will it be to hear him rappin bout "bein in da club, Oil City gimme luv, then we on to The Pint, drankin wodka's all night, swervin in my caddi on the way down to Whyte..."
@madjam
Should we be thankfull for Nabokov giving us a REALITY CHECK ?
I don't think anything could give you a reality check.
Step 1. Read the last quote by Eddie O. "It has nothing at all, and I’d like to stress that, it has nothing to do with Khabby.” Step 2. See the link below on lie detection experts. The clip pretty much says it all from 2:25 - 3:15.
All I have to say is Ed O should probably never try to slip one past his wife. Lying D Bag. Seriously though. Saw that clipped and laughed my ass of when reading that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbH781mVa4E&feature=related
Team Swiss??
Yep. I wonder if Ralph Kreuger had anything to do with the signing?
I agree Jon.. great signing with very little loss.
I think this was done with the Barons in mind. Have Gerber down there with the kids, helping develop Pitton and see how the year shakes out.
Having Gerber allows one to have many more options between the pipes, espeically if Khabi is A) Found Guilty and is in the clink B)Found not guilty (more like off on a technicality) but is still not 100% (rumours of his lack of conditioning are still abound) C) Comes back and you guessed it, gets hurt before the end of November.
I guess it will be a lot clearer come the 27th of August!
i agree as well....he'll be a good AHL player who'll be available if one of our goalies goes down. i think it's a good move.
This makes me wonder if this is the "Writing on the Wall" For Bulin. It would not surprise me at all if the Oilers cut their ties with Wall for good. Could we see a goalie trade in the first 20 Games? JDD could find himself a new home shortly. Say Montreal?
Great signing. At worse he's the starter for OKC, at best, he's a great steady veteran goaltender who can add stability in Edmonton should Khabi not be able to start the year or get injured and JDD/DD have the same consistency issues they did last year.
Great signing.
If Khaby can't go due to his legal issues or health, we're not stuck with starting the kids for 80 games again.
If Khaby's healthy and gets through the legal issues, one of the kids (probably Deslauriers) would get traded and Gerber is insurance in Oklahoma City.
@ Jonathan Willis
Same Jonathan Willis that posts on Bloody Elbow?
Oh great, another Oiler goaltending conversation...wait for it, wait for it...David S will be along shortly for the 2,605,437th time to slam both DD and JDD.
Afraid not.
@ JW,
The Gerber signing probably wasn't part of Rob Daum's 12 step exit play provided for Tambi.
At least OKC won't be gutted if/when the Oilers need to move goalies around.
what's your email address?
UPDATE: OLCZYK COMMENTS
Via Tyler Dellow, I see that Oilers assistant general manager Rick Olczyk has talked to the Sun's Rob Tychowski about the Gerber signing. The whole article is worth a read, as Olczyk goes into the Khabibulin situation and repeatedly affirms both his personal belief and the belief of the Oilers' organization that Khabibulin will be the team's starting goaltender next year, and denies rumours that the team might look to cut him if he misses training camp. In any case, Olczyk praised Gerber and stressed that the signing had nothing to do with Khabibulin:
“It had nothing at all to do with that,” Olczyk said of Khabibulin’s impending trial on extreme DUI charges in Scottsdale. “He had a tremendous year in the KHL and we needed to fill a void. We felt it was the right move and the right player at this particular point in time. It has nothing at all, and I’d like to stress that, it has nothing to do with Khabby.”
Umm right sure this move didn't have anything to do with Khabi. Keep thinking that Rick!
Since the Oilers have hired him, has he done anything that hasn't made him look like an idiot?
Oh, lovely. Via Scott Reynolds at Copper & Blue:
Jason Gregor had a good point on this signing in that it re-affirms that reKhabibulin will be back with the Oil this year. If they planned not to have him back, and wanted a goalie signed, they could get a younger, and more #1-ready goalie than Gerber. they have the cap room for it and don't need to save the space. This is an AHL and depth signing in case injuries or unforseen circumstances happen this year. Good signing
Also, what's the old saying? Goaltending is 90% of the game, unless you don't have it, then it's 100%
wonder if gerber will sport the darth vader look on his mask this year?
Also -- just sayin', not predicting -- if BOTH JDD and Dubnyk FAIL to show improvement over last year's ability levels, by the end of the pre-season, then it may be beneficial to have a NHL vet on hand just to stop the bleeding.
Because NEITHER JDD nor Dub showed themselves as anything beyond marginal NHL backups last year (I know Dubnyk has a good stretch as the end, and JDD showed some flashes, but overall,...).
Can we now hang 'The Wall'? Honestly, if we're young up front, why do we need to be so 'old' between the pipes?
However, 'Wall' has won a cup and may have given Sid's kids a run in the 2009 final had he not been injured for the end of the Chi-Det series. Do we need to spend this much money on mentorship??
Jon: Because somebody at another website slags Deslauriers, you -- and presumably we -- are forced to wonder why Deslauriers was qualfied? no?
"Whether or not Martin Gerber plays for the 2010-11 Edmonton Oilers as they look to climb out of 30th place has everything to do with whether or not Khabibulin starts the season in a US Prison."
If I was waking up from a 2006 coma and read this, I'd ask the Doctors to put me back under and then pull the plug.
Oh you wacky franchise!
*sad trombone*
I don't know how some can think the Oilers are going to turn their backs on Khabibulin and rid themselves of this contract, this just isn't going to happen. Only way the Oilers get off the hook for this contract is if he wrecks his back again and ends up on the even longer term IR. As long as he's able to lean on those pads and stick pain free he'll be right here.
And if he's found guilty and can't leave the US then what? Not much the Oilers can do if that happens to be the situation..
@ Robin Brownlee:
No, because I'm trying to figure out where Deslauriers slots in now. As it stands, he's #3 on the depth chart on a one-way deal worth seven figures. If he was Khabibulin insurance it made sense, but the signing of Gerber does that in a more cost-efficient way.
I don't get were Desaluriers fits in on the team going forward.
Lets not wait or want for things to happen...lets just watch and see what does happen.
He'll be found not guilty of extreme DUI... but he may participate in a guilty plea of a much lesser charge and barely get a slap on the wrist.
The only way it makes sense to me... (and bear with me here, this is pure speculation on my part): they are delaying the decision on which of Dubynk or Deslauriers is their guy.
The Oilers are not sold on which of Deslauriers or Dubynk is their man and they want to give each guy one more season to decide. The best of the two at camp will be the starter with Gerber as backup until Khabibulin comes back. Then "the winner" will split games with Khabibulin while Gerber gets sent down to OKC to mentor the other who will be getting the bulk of the games down there. Gerber gets recalled should an injury to Khabibulin happen.
I also suspect that they tried shopping Deslauriers but found that the market for him and goaltenders is very weak this summer and were not prepared to just give him away. By buying themselves another year, they hope to come to a conclusive decision while hopefully increasing the value of both by giving them another year of development.
Now however comes the question as to why did they sign Deslauriers to a seven figure one-way deal. The only way I can see why they did this is:
1. Deslauriers refused to sign a two-way deal. 2. The Oilers were scared that his arbitration award would be a one-way deal in excess of the 1.05 million he signed for but under the 1.6 limit that prevents the team from walking away from the player.
If that's the case they might have saved themselves a few hundred thousand without having to go through the nasty arbitration hearing. This way both sides are somewhat happy.
Next year they hope the goalie market is better and that goalie who lost out can be traded for something reasonable.
Hi Robin, I value your opinion - why do you think JDD was designed at all, nevermind for more money than DD. and Gerber and for nearly Turcos money. I don't know why, and it has nothing to do with other websites.
@David S
That is awesome!
Perfect Ladies. Where are we?
We're on a winning streak. Heeyeah!
The Oilers couldn't negotiate a two-way deal with Deslauriers.
By definition, the qualifying offer is a one-way deal. Deslauriers opted for arbitration, which guarenteed him one-way deal. The arbitrator would not give him less than the QO.
I don't think that's right godot10. Certain circumstances have to be met to be guaranteed a one way. I don't think JDD met them.
Re-signed at all? Because he if you don't qualify a player he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Is the team supposed to cut Deslauriers loose? Because he makes too much money? Because he's proven he can't be an NHL goaltender? Because DD has better numbers and is clearly a better prospect? No on all counts.
Gerber is capable filler and willing to work for cheap. That might buy the Oilers more time to look at Deslauriers and Dubnyk -- it would be nice to see both of them actually play behind something other than the dregs of the past couple of seasons.
@ Jonathan Willis / Brownlee,
As a filler in OKC siging Gerber's alright.
Maybe he's a good communicator? Hard for Khabby to teach the young guys in rehab/jail...
In regards to organizational depth I don't like it.
Tambellini should have signed a younger goalie with NHL aspirations/upside instead of Gerber, who's not in the long term plans. Finding a diamond in the rough netminder would make him look astute instead of safe.
Basically get some stones and take a chance!
I like the signing. the oil are so thin at Goal that this was a major relief. Oklahoma needs a decent backstop in order to be successful and I am sure that now they will have a fighting chance.
Nate: In regards to organization depth, I take the opposite stance.. I like it, because it's about depth in the AHL. Signing a vet goaltender willing to play for cheap in the NHL and willing to play in the AHL was a good idea. I'd love to see (insert young goaltender of the week here) signed here as well, but this signing is more about giving our AHL-affiliate a good head start in its first year.
But really, I wouldn't have complained to have seen a Niemi type come in here and seen both of JDD/Dubnyk sent down (can't say I am too keen on either of those guys).
My feelings exactly. The question is, what if Gerber comes in and plays lights out in camp/pre-season (which compared to either of JDD or DD is entirely possible)?
@Robin Brownlee
Thanks for the explanation, Robin. JDD certainly isn't a goat and it's arguably worthwhile to see if he develops further.
RCN - I've heard that that isn't an option with Khabibulin and the source of the info seemed credible. Did Gregor have a source or was he just speculating?
@Tyler
I'm not positive it was Gregor (may have been Corey or Will or somebody else), and I don't know if he had a source. It may not be an option for him there, but we remember Bell doing this a while back (different State, so who knows). Your background & connects easily have a better read on things than me.
@Tyler
Investing, like, $1.05 million for one more season to see if Deslauriers can become what they hoped he might develop into way back when they drafted him? Doesn't sound crazy to me.
If he'll be a UFA by then, with a UFA's cost -- and players like that are begging for jobs -- then the price should be right, no?
Spending one more season and $1.05 million on Deslauriers doesn't stike me as bizarre.
Robin
The Oilers did not invest $1.05 m into JDD as a 22 year old. They invested $1.05 after 7 years of development (or not as the case may be). We now have $6.3 million stunk into our NHL/AHL goal tending this season. And that figure might be ok if we had a strong #1 NHL keeper with a Vesa Toskala type backup. We don't.
Would love to get you meaningfully engaged because you have lots to add to the discussion!!!
Robin,
Do you knit your own socks? Of course not, because you can go to the store and buy something just as good without expending any of the effort.
Of course, there's still the chance that you might knit socks so great that they totally beat anything you could go out and buy at Walmart... but I doubt it.