The Charmed Life of Martin Gerber

How often have you heard it said -- "All Martin Gerber does is win." Never? Me neither (probably because he has only won approximately 53% of his NHL decisions).

But as Gerber and his Senators teammates wait for the Western Conference Finals to wrap up, the Swiss netminder is preparing to watch the Stanley Cup Finals from the best seat in the house for the third time in his four NHL seasons. You see, Martin Gerber has been a backup goalie in the Finals three times now, including winning the Cup last year as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes (the third time was back in 2002-03, where he was behind J.S. Giguere in Anaheim).

Sure, Gerber was supposed to be "the guy" in Carolina. And in Ottawa. But his mediocre-to-bad play in each city landed him on the end of the bench, where he watched his teammates do what he couldn't -- succeed. And lest you think Gerber's lucky streak started when he got to the NHL, he won an Elitserien (Swedish Elite League) title with Färjestads BK in his only year in the League back in 2001-02, where he actually had to earn his keep and, you know, play.

So this makes four straight cities in which Gerber has gone to the League Finals in his first year in town. Sit back and enjoy the view, Martin -- you're leading a charmed life.