Canucks News and Notes

[Meds]

Ahem...
Exhibit A

Kane's first goal was a laser beam. Kane has beaten MANY of the league's best goaltenders with that shot of his. His second goal, well that puck got past two Canuck defenders, Salo and Mitchell, and Mitchell really screwed up on that one. Luongo has no excuse for Kane's third goal, but the team in front of Luongo was pretty much letting the Hawks run around.....regardless, he should've had it. Kane also is one of those speedy little guys who has loads of skill and also an incredible amount of puck luck.

Exhibit B

Wow. That goal, really? The Canucks are letting the Hawks do whatever they hell they please for that entire clip. The shot comes in from the point, through a screen, Lou gets his blocker on it, when he finally finds it, and the Canucks defense does jack shit. Lou played that shot properly, he's down and out because he knows a shot is coming in from the point, he can't see it clearly through traffic, so he drops to take away the ice, making the high percentage play, then makes a very good reaction save, though that puts him out of position for a rebound. That's what the team in front of him is for. They dropped the ball.

Exhibit C

The Boston series was just a complete Jekyll and Hyde series for Luongo. He was absolutely unbelievable in games 1, 2, and 5. He was atrocious in games 3, 4, and 6, and less than stellar in game 7. But again you pick probably one of the most "excusable" goals from those games in Boston. Ference isn't a shooter, he winds up, he's sliding along the blueline to Luongo's left, Lou gets a good look at him winding up and his movement, drops as he tracks him across, and Ference blasts one that goes back the other way. It was a perfectly placed shot, and Ference probably couldn't replicate it if he tried.

Strangler, you can parade all the stats around you like but lets face it...the guy sucks when it counts the most.

As an aside, since you have proven he has the lowest save % in the history of the NHL, do you honestly, and I mean honest to yourself as well as everyone here, feel Luongo should be mentioned anywhere as being even remotely close to one of the games greatest goaltenders?

Seriously now...



Oh yeah and easy now...my eye socket has only just healed

Yeah, no doubt UDL, Lou is completely AWOL every time it really counts.









.....yeah, completely AWOL.

[Meds]

For the detractors......

[Uncle dans leg]

OK Meds....
Here-



Do I need to say more?

If you honestly believe the guy doesn't crumble under pressure then I'll sell you a whole new bushel of excuses for next spring

[Meds]

OK Meds....
Here-



Do I need to say more?

If you honestly believe the guy doesn't crumble under pressure then I'll sell you a whole new bushel of excuses for next spring

Ummm.....what's your point? That Chicago is a team that can score lots of goals? That they have been one of the best teams in the league for the last 6 seasons? That they love their Chelsea Dagger?

My point wasn't that Luongo doesn't crumble under pressure, just that he's also stood tall under pressure many times as well. Show me an "elite" goaltender that has won the Cup in the last 5 years who has a team that falls apart in front of him as often as the Canucks have in front of Louie.....

You can't.

Crawford? Hawks were crazy good this year.

Quick? Awesome goaltender, but his Sutter coached, defense first Kings, rarely left him hanging. Not really at all in the 2012 playoffs.

Thomas? Pfffft.....Boston had the best defensive game we've seen in years, and he still left turds in the crease for 3 games in the conference finals.

Niemi? Horseshoe, and the Hawks were stacked that year, ended up losing half their team and barely made the playoffs the next season.

Fleury? Bahahahahahahaha.....I can't believe I even listed him.

Luongo has sure let in some softies, and definitely lost a game or two for his team. But we watched Quick let in some real questionable ones last year, his team just tightened up in front of him rather than blow up like bowling pins.....

I just get a kick out of all the people that throw Luongo under the bus so readily but ignore the disaster of a team that he was backstopping.....loads of talent on that squad, heart was an issue, so was consistency and mental focus.

[Rumsfeld]

Yeah, what a disaster that 2011 Canucks team was that somehow had one of the best statistical regular seasons in NHL history.

[Strangelove]

As a man who deals exclusively in common sense, how sensible is it for the Canucks to get one more year out of an already irritated and declining 34-year-old Luongo only to buy him out after a "lame duck" season?

1. Irritated or not, Luongo is as professional as it gets = zero effect.

2. Luongo is not in decline = see my posts above.

3. By definition a "lame duck" is one whom everyone knows will be gonzo alonzo at a specific point in time. At this point in time only Canucks management and Lou + wife + agent know.... along with the few of us who still use what used to be known as "common sense". So yeah, he's not a "lame duck" by definition. And even if he were a "lame duck", well that's where the 'professional' part of "professional athlete" is supposed to take over. Seriously, we see this all the time in professional sports and, more often than not, the "lame duck" athlete performs well in an effort to secure a better next-contract.

Furthermore, how is it sensible for Florida to then take on a soon to be 35-year-old puck stopper to work with a young nucleus destined for...an 8th places finish, at best?

1. Revenue. Luongo sells reg season tickets = $$. Winning more games = $$. Making the playoffs = $$.

2. Leadership.

It's not that I doubt the great SL's reasons, it is that I do not understand them. As I am quite simple minded you see.

Agreed.

[Strangelove]

Yet look how he gets treated by many here at the Goalie Graveyard.

Yours truly asked the question at Central in 2006:

"Will Roberto Luongo break the curse of Vancouver's Goalie Graveyard?"

Perhaps he yet will amirite Dave?

Luongo was already dead and buried - so now I guess it's the Zombie Graveyard...!



I'M BACK!

Okay, I LOLed.

LuZombo the undead.

[Rumsfeld]

2. Luongo is not in decline = see my posts above.

He's past his physical prime and just had his worst statistical season ever... all after being supplanted by a kid with half a season of NHL hockey under his belt.

I don't think it's a stretch to say he's in decline and I expect Lou will look very average this season.

Must be hot cruising up De Nile this time of year...

[Uncle dans leg]

Yeah, what a disaster that 2011 Canucks team was that somehow had one of the best statistical regular seasons in NHL history.

That team with Sundin and Kesler on his wing wasn't so bad either.

[Strangelove]

Rummy you aren't paying attention.

The Great Strangelove wrote Bobby Lu's last season off.

They only gave him 20 starts last year!

Everyone knows Lou, like most of the greats, needs him his 50+ starts.

He's one of the best goaltenders in the history of planet Earth.

He is not a backup...

[Rumsfeld]

If he can put together a great regular season AND playoffs I'll be back on his wagon faster than coco's fist can penetrate a potato.

I just have very serious doubts in his ability to do that.*

*not the coco part

A trip to the final four would IMO be a total overachievement for this team in '14. Kind of like Meds passing a grade nine equivalency exam tomorrow.

Burrrows and Bieksa are the pieces Gillis should have been looking to move pre-FAfrenzy, but for some unfathomable reason he seems to think we can throw this pillow-soft core back in the mix and get a different result.

Oh right because of Torts, lol.

[Meds]

Yeah, what a disaster that 2011 Canucks team was that somehow had one of the best statistical regular seasons in NHL history.

Fuck off Rummy. You know as well as anyone that when that team melted down, they really melted down. Yeah they were good, damned good, but compared to teams that have actually won the Cup they didn't have the mental fortitude to buckle down and tighten things up if Lou let in a soft goal. Few are the times that they would actually rally and he would shit the bed all by himself.

[Strangelove]

If he can put together a great regular season AND playoffs I'll be back on his wagon faster than coco's fist can penetrate a potato.

I just have very serious doubts in his ability to do that.*

Then you're just gonna hafta trust the Great Strangelove!

Did I mention that....

Roberto Luongo has THE BEST SAVE PERCENTAGE IN THE HISTORY OF THE NHL!!! (736+ starts).

for some unfathomable reason he seems to think we can throw this pillow-soft core back in the mix and get a different result.

Well here's hoping he's still working on fixing dat dere.

Did I mention that...

he's gonna TRADE LUONGO FOR MATTHIAS + PETROVIC!!! (then sign Thomas).

[Meds]

If he can put together a great regular season AND playoffs I'll be back on his wagon faster than coco's fist can penetrate a potato.

I just have very serious doubts in his ability to do that.*

*not the coco part

A trip to the final four would IMO be a total overachievement for this team in '14. Kind of like Meds passing a grade nine equivalency exam tomorrow.

Burrrows and Bieksa are the pieces Gillis should have been looking to move pre-FAfrenzy, but for some unfathomable reason he seems to think we can throw this pillow-soft core back in the mix and get a different result.

Oh right because of Torts, lol.

I haven't tried that one yet.....just passed the grade 8 last month, due to write the grade nine at the end of August. Gotta study for that one ya know.

I hate to say I agree on Burrows, but he should have been dealt simply because he didn't have a NTC at the time. Same with Edler. Juice should have been shopped as soon as he commented that the team didn't need the whip to be cracked, coupled with his casual Kev inconsistencies, I wish he'd been dangled. Oddly enough, the core is softer without Bieksa, but not by alot.

[Rumsfeld]

Well I really appreciate you taking time off from studying to post that thoughtful and forthright response, Meds.

I guess I would just like to suggest that Luongo's meltdowns tended to precede the meltdowns of the team in front of him, particularly in the Final against Boston. Thomas would stop everything we threw at him and LoLongo would let in a couple floaters... game over. Team gets frustrated and yes, eventually quits.

I would also like to suggest that you change your tone, as I am detecting hostile vibes in your latest offering and I would prefer to not have to spend the remainder of the evening handing you your ass.

I'm not some hammered homeless freeloader you can just beat on in the back of your ambulance.

OK, well the hammered part is true. Say, do you guys carry any nitrous around in that thing?

*removes wallet from pocket*