Two men enter = Two men leave.

If somebody comes in, somebody must go.

The perennial early season roster changes are upon us and unsurprisingly Sheffield and Hull have been the teams making the moves.

Following news of incoming arrivals for the two clubs, the inevitable has happened with players being released. On Humberside it was defenceman Ryan Jorde who got a taxi to the airport, meanwhile in the Steel City it was forward Jeff Hutchins who got axed. Neither of which came as much of a surprise.

Reiter (R): injury setback

It was obvious that the Rays and Steelers were about to say farewell to somebody and all Sylvain Cloutier and Dave Matsos needed was enough of a reason to drop the guillotine. According to a Stingrays press release, Jorde's off-ice behaviour turned out to be his undoing and he quickly flew back across the Atlantic. Hull were about to cut a D-man anyway after the arrival of James Sanford so all it took was one wrong step and it was goodnight for Jorde.

It wasn't so cut and dry in Sheffield, however, as there were a few candidates for the axe. Although the odds were not in Hutchins' favour since he was the only new import forward on the team and wasn't part of last year's championship roster. Perhaps Hutchins should have waited longer to return to the line-up, giving his body more time to heal after he sustained a concussion against Newcastle. Maybe it wouldn't have made a scrap of difference though.

Inevitable

It's likely that Hutchins won't be the only player leaving Sheffield. He's been replaced by forward Matt Hubbauer, but defenceman Stephen Wood and netminder Andrew Verner have also come on board, meaning that there will probably be more cuts when Scott Basiuk and Kevin Reiter are fit.

Andrew Verner

Verner was rated by many as the best goalie in the Elite League last season, although Jody Lehman got more credit. Now Verner, for the time being at least, becomes Lehman's replacement, following a brief stint between the pipes by Reiter, which leads us to the inevitable question.

What happens when Reiter comes back?

Reiter is out with a hernia and will likely be back in a few months, which gives Matsos plenty of time to weigh his options, but it basically means this:

If Verner plays well, Reiter's done. And chances are Verner's going to play well.

Now, if both were 100 per cent healthy and you were picking teams after practice, who would you take? Verner - who was arguably the best goalie in the league last term in Newcastle. Or Reiter - who singlehandedly won games that the Basingstoke Bison had no business winning.

It's a difficult call, and Matsos' decision will be swayed by a range of factors. Let's compare the two goalies:

Goalie A:

Excellent first season in the Elite League

Brilliant 65-save performance in the Skydome

Relatively young, turns 28 in November

Faced more shots per game than any other starting netminder last season

Played mostly in the North American minor leagues, briefly in the ECHL

Decent start to the campaign, playing behind a shaky under-strength roster

Injured in back-to-back seasons

Goalie B:

Excellent first season in the Elite League

Voted to the IHJUK's All Star second team

Ageing veteran who turns 37 in November

Played top flight hockey in Sweden, Austria, Finland and Germany

Will be playing for a Steelers roster with two new imports

Playing behind a bunch of skaters who have had a sudden reality check and a likely upswing in form

If this was a long-term decision then it would be a more drawn out decision-making process, but considering that the Elite League generally operates on short term contracts, it's obvious who Matsos will choose to keep - Verner. Unless, of course, he gets injured too or suddenly can't stop the puck anymore - as doubtful as that may seem. The Steelers handled a similar situation last year with Nathan Gillies and Brad Cruikshank and it'll probably turn out in the same style this time.

There will also be consequences for other Elite League teams, depending on the time frame of Reiter's recovery and Matsos' subsequent decision. Suppose in a couple of months time that Reiter's healthy and Matsos makes his pick, all of a sudden there will be a top import goalie available for hire.

If Corey LeClair can walk out of one job and straight into, not one, but two more then surely the league will find a spot for Verner or Reiter, if they fancy staying. Though it would be a gutsy call to bring in whichever goalie is discarded by the Steelers - if it's Reiter there's the injury cloud, if it's Verner - he obviously wasn't up to scratch.

In the meantime all we can do is wait and see. Time will tell. But there is another possible outcome in how this plays out: What if Reiter returns and Matsos opts to keep both netminders? One thing's for sure, the Steelers would have the best shooting practice in the entire league.

Did Matsos make the right call? Is Verner a better goalie than Reiter? Did Jorde deserve the axe? Post all your views on the form below...

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