I got to thinking the other day....
Many of the comments I had been receiving from vistiors to this
site had called Biller a "survivor".
I began thinking about Craig's time in Ottawa, and how he had
managed to come through it with his confidence and optimism intact.
Then I thought, "Which other Sens' goalies survived the bad
years in Ottawa with their careers still intact?"
The answer: None.
As far as I can tell, no other Senators goaltender who played
for them in the dark ages has managed to stay in the NHL. No one
else, except Biller. Where are they now?
Let's see if I can list them:
Peter Sidorkiewicz: Albany of the AHL. Traded for Biller,
but has spent nearly all of that time in the minors.
Steve Weeks: retired about 8 games into his Sens' career.
Daniel Berthiaume: ECHL. Played with Roanoke for a while.
Done after the Sens.
Darrin Madeley: AHL, I think with Baltimore. Never really
made it.
Mark Laforest: Gone.
Don Beaupre: Traded to the Maple Leafs, never won a game
for them. Was sent to the AHL, now in the IHL somewhere. Most
likely done in the NHL.
Mike Bales: Spent a year backing up Beaupre and Rhodes,
spent last year with Baltimore of the AHL. Now with Rochester.
Unlikely to be called up to replace Hasek.
I'm not counting Rhodes and Tugnutt yet, since the team has gotten
better since their arrival.
But as far as I can tell, Biller is the only one to have remained
in the NHL after having played goal for Ottawa, back in the days
when they were winning 14 games a year.
I think that says a lot about his resilience and attitude.
Don't you?