We've hardly been kind to Martin Biron in this forum.
We've allowed our bitterness towards his former team wipe out any objectivity we might display in our little corner of the Internet.
But despite our bias against the Flyers, we have to admit, he's an above average goaltender. We'll even say he's a good goaltender.
He's not someone who will help you win a Stanley Cup. The past two seasons have established that. But he's definitely good enough to get you to the playoffs and he can even win a round or two. You could do far worse than having Martin Biron in between the pipes.
That's what makes his continued unemployment a little bit startling to us.
In a league where the likes of Jose Theodore continually gets chance after chance to accomplish little of consequence, how is it Martin Biron is still looking for a job a week into the free agency signing period?
Granted, a lot of teams are feeling the crunch of the salary cap this year and there are worries about if the cap could fall in upcoming seasons, but at $3.5 million per season (Biron's cap number last season), Biron could be the difference between a team making the playoffs or not.
If you ask us, Biron would offer the following teams an upgrade were they to pursue his services:
> Thrashers - Atlanta General manage Don Waddell has been trying to shop starter Kari Lehtonen (right) and prospect Ondrej Pavelec. When he's not injured, Lehtonen is wildly inconsistent. Pavelec has never really gotten a fair chance to nail down an NHL job. Johan Hedberg is entrenched as a sturdy back up. Biron would provide stability at a position constantly in flux for this franchise.
> Kings - There might not be a better fit for Biron. The Kings historically have never had outstanding goaltending. Outside of some excellent spells by Rogie Vachon and Kelly Hrudey, goaltending has always been an issue for Los Angeles. Currently, Jonathan Quick and Erik Ersberg are manning the net while prospect Jonathan Bernier is still developing. The Kings have $8.4 million in salary cap space. They could easily afford Biron who could make them a playoff team. He'd be a nice veteran addition - like Ryan Smyth and Rob Scuderi - to a solid young core of guys like Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty and others.
> Coyotes - It's amazing what a few nice playoff games can do for you. When he was a member of the Ducks, Ilya Bryzgalov (right) was able to play a few postseason games in place of Jean-Sebastien Giguere. He was excellent for the most part in those few games and was able to turn that into a contract that pays him over $4 million a season. Granted, the Coyotes have a lot of problems much bigger than goaltending, but Biron would provide an upgrade over Bryzgalov in our book.
> Lightning - It might not be fair to pick on Mike Smith who was fantastic for the Lightning last season despite having a garbage team around him. But Smith's very unproven. Signing Biron to a short-term deal might be a wise decision for the Lightning, especially considering Smith's concussion issues last season.
And we only considered teams where personnel and salary issues wouldn't be an issue. If you just went nuts and paid not attention to those concerns, here's our hypothetical "Martin Biron is better than their goaltender" list:
> Blackhawks - Biron is 1-0 in playoff series all-time versus Cristobal Huet. Additionally, that's one more playoff series than Huet has ever won as a starter.
> Avalanche - Biron may not be an ideal fit for a team clearly rebuilding. But a tandem of Craig Anderson and Peter Budaj isn't a fit for any NHL team under any circumstances.
> Panthers - Tomas Vokoun might be one of the most overrated players in the NHL. He's never won a playoff series in the NHL. And he has a big cap number at $5.7 million.
> Canadiens - Carey Price will be an elite goaltender one day assuming the pressure of playing in Montreal doesn't eat him up. But if we had to play a hockey game for everything in the world this afternoon, we'd call Biron before we'd call Price.
> Islanders - When he's healthy, Rick DiPietro is a franchise player. But he's not healthy.
> Senators - Pascal Leclaire could be the franchise goaltender the Senators have been looking for since they came back into the league in the early 1990s. Or he could be the next Patrick Lalime. Until Leclaire proves himself, we'll go with the established Biron.
> Flyers - It's fair to say it was proven the Flyers were never going to beat the rival Penguins in a playoff series with Biron after the past two seasons. Change was needed. But downgrading was not the right change. Ray Emery (right) < Martin Biron.
> Blues - We feel kind of mean for picking on Chris Mason. He was the Blues' MVP down the stretch and helped them get into the playoffs. But he was dumped by Nashville in favor of some schmoe named Dan Ellis. Give us Biron.
> Maple Leafs - It's tough to tell what Vesa Toskala can do as a starter since his two seasons in Toronto have been under mostly dire circumstances. And he played with a pretty severe hip injury much of last season. But he's the same age essentially as Biron and a little bit pricier.
We're not trying to make Biron out to be the next Bill Durnan, but we just can't help but wonder why he's still looking for work when he's affordable and accomplished.
(Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images; Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images; Bryzgalov-Photobucket; Emery-Photobucket)
Posted
Jul 09 2009, 07:07 AM
by
Seth Rorabaugh