Given that I am no longer in school for the Christmas break, and therefore have nothing to do with my spare time at work, I decided to follow through on a hunch that I've had for a while now. Prior to this investigation, I believed that the Senators had more than their share of career players.

In conducting this study, I have defined a career player as someone who has never played an NHL game with another franchise. This excludes players like Matt Carkner (due to his 1 game with the Sharks), and includes players like John Tavares (Who hasn't had the opportunity to play elsewhere. Yet.) As well, my study doubly-values those players in the top 5 in team scoring, as a way to give more weight to the core of the franchise as opposed to the depth players called up from the farm. These figures are taken as a percentage of the total number of players with at least 10 appearances this season so far. For those inclined to use a formula:

(# of home-grown Top-5 scorers + Total # of home-grown players) / Total players with at least 10 appearances

Below are my finding:

Clearly, I was on to something, given the Sens' top 10 performance in this regard. I find it interesting that the bottom 4 franchises on this table are the most frequent targets of relocation talk, an empirical link I did not expect to find.

I'm not sure if this debunks the theory that the Senators' drafting is unsuccessful, but it is definately something to think of. As well, while I tried to be as accurate as I could, I may have made mistakes, so this shouldn't be treated as the absolute truth.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Martin Gerber Syndrome, commonly known as MGS, is a syndrome characterized by a sudden onset of unexplained sucking. In what is a classic example of an anxiety disorder, MGS tends to manifest only in cases of increased pressure (ie. performing in front of crowds).

The condition was named after Martin Gerber, a goaltender formerly with the NHL's Ottawa Senators who suffered from a chronic form of this ailment.

Symptoms

Symptoms of MGS include slowed reflexes, especially in the extremities, impaired vision, lapses in judgement, and inability to perform typical day-to-day duties. Also manifests by causing unexplained, frequent choking.

Causes

The causes of Martin Gerber Syndrome are currently under investigation. It is strongly believed that environmental factors existing in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada are involved.

Diagnosis

Unlike many disorders, MGS is diagnosed en masse by consensus. In cases where thousands of observers simultaneously throw their hands in the air in frustration, MGS should be considered a possibility.

If the symptoms manifest more than once weekly, the patient is considered to have Chronic MGS. The prevalence of this disorder is very low, however the cases that do exist are contagious in that they cause a great deal of discomfort in those around the patient.

Treatment

While there are many dissenting opinions on the treatment of MGS, there are a few commonly-used courses of action. The first is the isolation of the patient, especially in locations such as Binghamton, NY (or any other AHL city). The second is the removal of the stressors that sparked the outbreak of MGS. The third, and most drastic treatment is the euthanizing of the patient, something many observers have called for but has never actually been done in practice.

Measurement

Martin Gerber Syndrome is measured in Generic Martin Units (gMU). These units are on a scale ranging from 0 (ideal) to 10 (dire). Day-to-day measurements typically fall within the 2-3 range, with ratings up to 5 occuring with no long-term adverse effects. Patients suffering from measurements exceeding 7 are said to be suffering from MGS, and patients exceeding 9 should be institutionalized immediately.

Historical Cases

Martin Gerber: Consistently exceeded the 9 gMU threshold

Patrick Lalime: Peaked at 10 gMU, has not fully recovered

Brian Elliot: Quickly working up the scale, currently nearing the 7 gMU mark