Martin Gerber

Martin Gerber
Born (1974-09-03) 3 September 1974
Burgdorf, Switzerland
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NLA team
Former teams		 Kloten Flyers
SC Langnau
Färjestads BK
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Carolina Hurricanes
Ottawa Senators
Toronto Maple Leafs
Atlant Moscow Oblast
Edmonton Oilers
Växjö Lakers
Rögle BK
National team   Switzerland
NHL Draft 232nd overall, 2001
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Playing career 1994–present

Martin Gerber (born 3 September 1974 in Burgdorf, Switzerland) is a Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Kloten Flyers in the National League A (NLA). He was drafted in the eighth round, as 232nd overall, by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Before moving to the National Hockey League (NHL) in 2002, Gerber played professionally in Switzerland and Sweden; he would return to both countries during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Gerber played two seasons with the Mighty Ducks before spending time with the Carolina Hurricanes, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2006, the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Gerber spent the 2009–10 season in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) before signing with the Edmonton Oilers in 2010. Since the 2011–12 season he played two years in the Elitserien (SEL) before returning to the NLA.

Playing career

Gerber began his career in his native Switzerland for SC Langnau. Initially playing in the Nationalliga B, Gerber and the Tigers won promotion to Nationalliga A in 1998. In 2001, he was drafted by the Mighty Ducks and spent the subsequent season in Sweden playing for Färjestads BK in the Elitserien. He moved to the Ducks organization in 2002 and on 11 October of that year, Gerber played his first NHL game, a 4-2 loss at the hands of the Dallas Stars. He went on to play a total of 22 regular season games that season, serving as back-up to Jean-Sébastien Giguère. That season, the Mighty Ducks made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, narrowly losing in seven games to the New Jersey Devils.[1] Gerber continued his role as back-up and played 32 games for Anaheim in 2003–04.

Gerber was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on 18 June 2004, in exchange for Tomáš Malec and a 3rd round pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.[2] During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Gerber returned to his former European teams, playing 20 games with the SCL Tigers and 30 with Färjestads BK.

Gerber returned to the NHL for the 2005–06 season, and it was a successful one for Gerber, who won 38 games and helped earn Carolina their third division championship. Gerber entered the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs as the Hurricanes' starting goaltender, but he struggled in the team's opening series and was replaced by rookie Cam Ward, who had been his back-up for most of the season. Ward went on to backstop the team to its first Stanley Cup championship as the Hurricanes defeated the Edmonton Oilers in seven games in the finals.[3] Gerber, who did earn 1 of Carolina's 16 playoff wins, became the second Swiss player in NHL history to win a Cup. David Aebischer, also a goaltender, was the first in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche.[4]

On 1 July 2006, Gerber signed as a free agent with the Ottawa Senators.[5] He struggled throughout the season and was replaced as starting goaltender by Ray Emery. That season, Emery led the Senators to their first appearance in the Stanley Cup finals, where they would lose to Gerber's former team, the Anaheim Ducks. It was Gerber's third appearance in the Stanley Cup finals in five years.[6] Gerber began the 2007–08 season as the Senators' starter when Emery was sidelined after off-season wrist surgery. His play was inconsistent and Emery resumed the starting job once he was healthy again. However, after the team suffered a rapid decline in the standings and head coach John Paddock was fired and replaced by general manager Bryan Murray, Murray declared Gerber as the starting goaltender for the remainder of the season. Gerber entered the 2008–09 season in that role, but his uneven play continued and he was eventually supplanted by the newly signed Alex Auld. On 22 January 2009, Gerber was placed on waivers after having been sent down to the Senators American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Senators.[7]

Gerber sporting his all-black "Darth Gerber" mask with the Senators.

On 4 March 2009, Gerber was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs to replace goalie Vesa Toskala, who was scheduled for season-ending surgery.[8] During a game on 24 March against the Washington Capitals, Gerber was assessed a game-misconduct and immediately suspended for three games for an incident with the on-ice officials, during which Gerber was arguing a call and proceeded to make contact with referee Mike Leggo and a linesman who was attempting to restrain him.[9]

During the off-season, Gerber signed a deal with Atlant Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League, coincidentally the same team that fellow former-Senators goaltender Ray Emery played for the previous season before returning to the NHL in 2009.[10] On 13 December 2009, while playing for Atlant, Gerber suffered an apparent fracture of the 4th vertebrae when an opposing forward slid into him. Gerber's neck injury was initially thought to be a compression fracture of a cervical vertebra, and it was believed that he would miss upwards of 6 months.[11] However, after more comprehensive testing the following day no fractures were found and it was diagnosed as a spinal contusion; he would only be sidelined for a few weeks.[12]

On 6 August 2010, Gerber signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers.[13] He was assigned to the team's AHL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons. He was recalled on 18 November after Oilers' goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin was placed on injured reserve.[14] Gerber made his first start for the Oilers on 25 November, picking up a 3-2 victory over the visiting Colorado Avalanche. He stopped 35 of 37 shots and drew an assist on the game-winning goal scored by Taylor Hall.[15] Gerber started one more game, a 4-1 victory at Ottawa against his former team, before Khabibulin was re-activated and Gerber was returned to the Barons. Gerber was again re-called in late February after another injury to Khabibulin. Picking up where he left off in late November, Gerber stopped 34 shots in a 2-1 shootout win over the Nashville Predators on 1 March, improving to a perfect 3-0 with Edmonton.[16]

On 12 July 2011, Gerber signed a one-year contract with the Växjö Lakers of the Elitserien (SEL).[17] Playing 42 games, he ended fifth in the save percentage league for the 2011–12 season with .928, and seventh in GAA with a 2.18 GAA. The Lakers failed to reach the playoffs. For the 2012–13 season he signed with the SEL team Rögle BK.[18] After a solitary season with Rogle, Gerber returned to Switzerland in signing a two-year contract with the Kloten Flyers.

Goalie mask

To start the 2007–08 season, Gerber wore an all-black mask while his other mask was being painted; he played so well wearing the black mask that he decided not to replace it, wearing it for the remainder of the season. Fans endearingly called him "Darth Gerber". In response Gerber tried out a new Darth Vader inspired mask design to begin the 2008–09 season when he was still a member of the Senators.[19] The mask was worn by Gerber during the first few games with Toronto before he switched to a new one paying homage to old masks of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the past.

International play

Medal record
Representing Switzerland Switzerland
Ice hockey
Ice Hockey World Championships
2013 Sweden/Finland

Gerber has been a mainstay on the Swiss national team, having represented his country in eight IIHF World Championships and two Winter Olympics since 2000. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Gerber made 49 saves to shutout a heavily favored Team Canada 2-0 in one of the biggest upsets in modern Olympic hockey history. That victory is regarded as one of the greatest accomplishments in Swiss hockey.[20] Gerber has appeared in 40 games at the World Championships. Switzerland failed to medal in any of these tournaments, their highest finish being 5th in 2010, though their play has seen their IIHF World Rank increase from 9th in 2003 to 7th in 2010.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1994–95 SC Langnau NLB 5 — — — 222 18 0 4.86 — 1 — — — — — 4.50 —
1995–96 SC Langnau NLB — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
1996–97 SC Langnau NLB 38 — — — 2286 121 0 3.18 — 8 — — 488 29 0 3.56 —
1997–98 SC Langnau NLB 40 — — — 2430 141 — 3.48 — 16 — — 961 42 0 2.62 —
1998–99 SC Langnau NLA 42 — — — 2522 203 — 4.83 — — — — — — — — —
1999–00 SC Langnau NLA 44 — — — 2652 161 — 3.64 — — — — — — — — —
2000–01 SC Langnau NLA 44 — — — 2671 114 3 2.56 .927 — — — — — — — —
2001–02 Färjestads BK SEL 44 — — — 2664 87 4 1.96 .922 10 — — 657 18 2 1.64 .941
2002–03 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00 .951 — — — — — — — —
2002–03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 22 6 11 3 1203 39 1 1.94 .929 2 0 0 20 1 0 3.00 .833
2003–04 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 32 11 12 4 1698 64 2 2.26 .918 — — — — — — — —
2004–05 SC Langnau NLA 20 6 10 4 1217 57 0 2.81 — — — — — — — — —
2004–05 Färjestads BK SEL 30 20 6 4 1827 58 4 1.90 .929 15 9 6 900 36 1 2.40 .925
2005–06 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 60 38 14 6 3492 162 3 2.78 .906 6 1 1 221 13 1 3.53 .856
2006–07 Ottawa Senators NHL 29 15 9 3 1969 74 1 2.78 .906 — — — — — — — —
2007–08 Ottawa Senators NHL 57 30 18 4 3197 145 2 2.72 .910 4 0 4 238 14 0 3.53 .912
2008–09 Ottawa Senators NHL 14 4 9 1 839 40 1 2.86 .899 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 Binghamton Senators AHL 14 6 7 0 783 38 1 3.03 .902 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 12 6 5 0 706 38 0 3.23 .905 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Atlant Moscow Oblast KHL 30 15 6 6 1751 64 2 2.19 .914 — — — — — — — —
2010–11 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 42 20 16 4 2472 107 4 2.60 .911 6 2 3 335 10 1 1.79 .931
2010–11 Edmonton Oilers NHL 3 3 0 0 185 4 0 1.30 .958 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Växjö Lakers SEL 42 — — — 2417 88 4 2.18 .928 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Rögle BK SEL 43 11 31 0 2457 116 1 2.83 .916 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Kloten Flyers NLA 34 20 13 0 2027 72 3 2.19 .927 15 6 8 886 33 1 2.24 .929
2014–15 Kloten Flyers NLA 33 17 15 0 1889 79 2 2.51 .915 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 229 113 78 21 12915 566 10 2.63 .911 12 1 5 479 28 1 3.50 .890

International

Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2000 Switzerland WC 6th 2 1 1 0 120 7 0 3.50 .873
2001 Switzerland WC 9th 6 2 4 0 358 16 0 2.68 .919
2002 Switzerland OG 11th 3 1 1 0 158 4 0 1.52 .958
2002 Switzerland WC 10th 4 1 3 0 240 12 0 3.00 .894
2004 Switzerland WC 8th 6 2 2 2 358 11 2 1.84 .932
2005 Switzerland WC 8th 6 3 3 0 359 10 1 1.67 .946
2006 Switzerland OG 6th 3 1 2 0 160 11 1 4.13 .890
2008 Switzerland WC 7th 5 3 2 0 267 14 0 3.15 .879
2009 Switzerland WC 9th 6 3 3 0 364 14 1 2.31 .896
2010 Switzerland WC 5th 5 3 2 0 298 7 1 1.41 .936
2013 Switzerland WC 2nd, silver medalist(s) 6 4 2 0 365 11 0 1.81 .923
Senior totals 52 24 26 2 3047 117 6 2.28 .919

References

  1. ↑ "Devils down Ducks in Game 7 to win third Stanley Cup". Sports Illustrated. 2003-09-06. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  2. ↑ "Might Ducks trade goalie Gerber to Carolina". USA Today. 2004-06-19. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  3. ↑ Jason Diamos (2006-06-20). "Third Try at Clinching Gives Carolina Its First Cup". NY Times. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  4. ↑ "Swiss ice hockey star steps out of the shadows". swissinfo. 2003-06-10. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  5. ↑ "Senators sign Gerber to multiyear contract; say goodbye to Hasek". ESPN. 2006-01-07. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  6. ↑ Chris Iorfida (2008-03-20). "Martin Gerber's march". CBC.ca. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  7. ↑ "Senators' Gerber clears waivers". TSN. 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  8. ↑ "Maple Leafs claim Gerber after placing Toskala on IR". TSN. 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  9. ↑ "Leafs' Gerber suspended for three games". NHL.com. 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  10. ↑ "Gerber follows Emery path to Russia". Rogers Sportsnet. 2009-07-23. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  11. ↑ Greg Wyshynski (2009-12-13). "Goalie Martin Gerber suffers significant neck injury in KHL". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  12. ↑ Noah Love (2009-12-14). "Gerber not as seriously injured as initially thought". National Post. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  13. ↑ "Oilers sign Gerber to 1-year deal". CBC.ca. 2010-08-06. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
  14. ↑ "Nikolai Khabibulin placed on IR". ESPN. 2010-11-18. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  15. ↑ "Hall scores game-winner in third period as Oilers edge Avs". TSN. 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  16. ↑ "Omark scores winner in shootout as Oilers defeat Predators". TSN. 2011-03-01. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  17. ↑ "Martin Gerber klar för ett år" (in Swedish). Växjö Lakers. 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
  18. ↑ Erikzon, Olof (2012-05-18). "Världsmålvakt förstärker Rögle". roglebk.se (in Swedish). Rögle BK. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  19. ↑ "Sens' Gerber has new mask, new outlook on season". The Sports Network. 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  20. ↑ "Do You Believe in... Switzerland? Canada Does.". NY Times. 2006-02-19. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
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