Amidst all the congratulations surrounding the Binghamton Senators Calder Cup triumph is a chorus suggesting that the victory is a vindication for Brian Murray’s leadership.

While a Calder Cup victory is a big step in the development for many of the Sens young players, let’s remember that Murray’s job is to build an NHL championship team, not an AHL championship team.

How players like Greening, Butler, Condra, Cowan and Lehner take their Calder Cup experience and build upon it for their NHL careers will be the real test.

I was not a fan of the new three-year extension given to Murray after what has been a dizzying tailspin for this franchise over the past three years but clearly Murray has done a very good job rebuilding the scorched, salted and irradiated earth left behind by Muckler’s reign of terror ( I can’t watch Chara playing in the Finals without weeping uncontrollably).

The strength of the AHL team is clearly a positive for the Sens organization, and obviously Murray deserves credit for that, but let’s not lose track of the big picture. AHL success is not necessarily a indicator of NHL success.