70 replies to this topic

[Metamucil]

Before I start, I want to shut down a few people who are going to start bashing me for being a low poster and probably a kid who has never watched a game in his life nevermind has any hockey knowledge at all....

Im a 40 year old who has been a Canuck fan virtually all his life and have lived in BC for the last 12 years. I have watched the team - year after year - following the players, coaches etc.

I am a huge Luongo fan. I believe that any team that has him playing for them is a better team. period. I also know that he wants to win. for that reason alone, i feel we need to let him go. Everyone talks about Vancouver being the goalie graveyard... and after watching this past playoff performance, i am really starting to believe it. We simply (despite all the injuries to our defensive core and our roster in general), have not lived up to the potential that i or anyone else felt we should be living up to. in the case of this season, i believe we need to look at the defense and luongo particularly. as the team is, we are a competitive team (we all witnessed that throughout the year). we do not have the depth needed to finish the job tho (imo). Sure, we've locked up the Sedins, Kesler, Burrows and Luongo.... but then what? even with Demitra walking (which is likely) what do we have and what can we spend? not alot. We have finally built up a group of young up and coming talent, but like we witnessed with chicago a few years ago - it will take a few years to get where we need to with the new players.

i know i have been ranting (it sure was a tough game to watch last night), but heres my point:

Letting Luongo go might be the best thing for this team and our future. We all talk about making Schneider the backup next year at league minimum (which is great) - but imagine letting him and Raycroft share the duties and fight for the starting spot based on performance. Raycroft has been a stellar backup considering the time we have given him in net. we all KNOW schneiders potential. with an extra 7 million to spend filling gaps and holes, theres no question we could remain competitive.

After watching Luongo and the non-committal interview he gave following the loss last night, I cant help but feel that the graveyard is calling him - and i dont want that to happen. he deserves (as do the canucks) to win, wants to win and CAN win. Taking some responsibility (while not throwing the team under the bus) would have been the team thing to do - because clearly he dropped the ball on a few of those 5 goals. but, in my opinion, rather than stating that - he said (roughly) "well at least this time i didnt let in seven". that, to me, shows he is frustrated and lacking the confidence we needed to see out of him in a game that was the most important of the season for this team. is he destined to be another great goalie that dies in vancouver? i sure as hell hope not.

thanks for letting me get things out. cheers and good luck to the Canadiens - lets at least get the cup to Canada!

[shogun1]

not to go off topic or anything but a 40-year old with the username Metamucil made me lol.

p.s. thank you for using paragraphs.

[King of Anarchy]

1. Contract
2. Defence was the teams' biggest issue (every goal scored was either 1-1 or 2-1)
3. Luongo > Schneider

[Metamucil]

I run a retirement resort. that should make things even more humorous

I just want to add the fact that i DONT really wish for Luongo to be gone - hes a great goaltender with alot of class. simply put, i want him to get a cup. watching his face during the interview following the game makes me shudder - because he simply looked like a goaltender in trouble. (in my opinion) Can he get the cup here? possibly. but i hate to see the look of doubt.

cheers

[Zing!]

Schneider hasn't proved himself on the NHL level yet. But does need that opportunity. IMO, do make him backup next year. And allow him to play more if he does well. Rest Luongo more. Maybe a 60-20ish split if possible. More than what Raycroft got this year at 14 games started.

Get a full time goalie coach that can work with them every day.

Less pressure, less overuse, could do well for both goalies.



P.S. And to rehash the point repeatedly said on the forums, no more goalie captains.

Edited by sf_rogue, 12 May 2010 - 04:28 PM.

[Mehhhhh]

You're looking at letting go of our best player. Yes, I know that that's probably far from the popular opinon right now, but in reality it's true. People here, and elsewhere in Canada, have too short term of a memory in terms of Luongo. Sure, he had a bad year this year, and sure, he had a bad game against Chicago last year in game 6, but does everyone here forget every year up untill this year? What about Miller? People talk about how amazing he is, but fail to remember how two years ago he posted a .906 save percentage - where would the Sabres be without him.

Even if he wasn't, right now Luongo's stock is as low as it has ever been in his NHL career, so it probably isn't the best time to get rid of him. Next year he will be better, I'm not really too concerned about that, but that still doesn't take away from the fact that we wouldn't want to sell low.

Schneider is not yet a starter, and Raycroft is too small to be a Stanely Cup calibure goaltender. Next year it's looking like we have a chance to upgrade on a few positions to make us an even more competitive team, so using Schneider and Raycroft wouldn't be a good idea in a year where we have a good chance to make a run, if we were rebuilding I would agree with you and try to fight for the first overall pick.

[Sanford]

If Cory Scheider turns out to be a Tuuska Rask v2. Then we should consider... until then... were stuck with him.

[☆➊ R. 'Superman' Kesler ➐☆]

Why do you all you bash Louie? It wasn't his fault, it was the defenses. Most of the goals were 2 - on - 1's, what could he do? Nothing. At least he kept us in it with that beautiful glove save, and the offense couldn't get it going.

[peteski00]

Schneider does not make league minimum. I believe he makes rookie maximum, but I am not sure.

[Audiophile]

Luongo has a 11 years left on his contract which will be hard to sell

raycroft only signed with us for one year at 500,000 (correct me if im wrong here) and his play this year has proven he is worth more than that, plus after the way he played this year i think he is deserving of a starting job and can likely find one, so keeping him on to fight for a position is unlikely.

schenider is unproven but shows great potential so he's a wash at this point. but he should be given some games next year to prove himself

the biggest thing i am concerned with improving in the offseason (like most i'm sure) is defence. We have a good offensive core and a plethora of young skilled players with tons of potential that can play for cheap (grabner, schroeder, hodgson, shirokov etc) and hopefully raymond will resign.

I definitely feel bad for Luongo though he hasn't played stellar this year he did alright and showed us on many occasions that he still has the skills to be a difference maker, however he suffered quite a but from our weaker defence this year and more offensive style of play.

I say keep him around for a while longer but i don't think he should be captain, hes already under way too much pressure in such a fanatic market.

so here to a productive offseason gillis lets see what you can do

Edited by Gillis=god, 12 May 2010 - 04:39 PM.

[NuckifiedBenchWarmer]

Metamucil, on 12 May 2010 - 04:16 PM, said:

Before I start, I want to shut down a few people who are going to start bashing me for being a low poster and probably a kid who has never watched a game in his life nevermind has any hockey knowledge at all....

Im a 40 year old who has been a Canuck fan virtually all his life and have lived in BC for the last 12 years. I have watched the team - year after year - following the players, coaches etc.

I am a huge Luongo fan. I believe that any team that has him playing for them is a better team. period. I also know that he wants to win. for that reason alone, i feel we need to let him go. Everyone talks about Vancouver being the goalie graveyard... and after watching this past playoff performance, i am really starting to believe it. We simply (despite all the injuries to our defensive core and our roster in general), have not lived up to the potential that i or anyone else felt we should be living up to. in the case of this season, i believe we need to look at the defense and luongo particularly. as the team is, we are a competitive team (we all witnessed that throughout the year). we do not have the depth needed to finish the job tho (imo). Sure, we've locked up the Sedins, Kesler, Burrows and Luongo.... but then what? even with Demitra walking (which is likely) what do we have and what can we spend? not alot. We have finally built up a group of young up and coming talent, but like we witnessed with chicago a few years ago - it will take a few years to get where we need to with the new players.

i know i have been ranting (it sure was a tough game to watch last night), but heres my point:

Letting Luongo go might be the best thing for this team and our future. We all talk about making Schneider the backup next year at league minimum (which is great) - but imagine letting him and Raycroft share the duties and fight for the starting spot based on performance. Raycroft has been a stellar backup considering the time we have given him in net. we all KNOW schneiders potential. with an extra 7 million to spend filling gaps and holes, theres no question we could remain competitive.

After watching Luongo and the non-committal interview he gave following the loss last night, I cant help but feel that the graveyard is calling him - and i dont want that to happen. he deserves (as do the canucks) to win, wants to win and CAN win. Taking some responsibility (while not throwing the team under the bus) would have been the team thing to do - because clearly he dropped the ball on a few of those 5 goals. but, in my opinion, rather than stating that - he said (roughly) "well at least this time i didnt let in seven". that, to me, shows he is frustrated and lacking the confidence we needed to see out of him in a game that was the most important of the season for this team. is he destined to be another great goalie that dies in vancouver? i sure as hell hope not.

thanks for letting me get things out. cheers and good luck to the Canadiens - lets at least get the cup to Canada!

Okay..I understand what you're talking about but shouldn't we give him another chance to prove himself. Yeah, sure the game last was crappy a a couple of the goals scored against COULDVE been stooped..but hey. Did you see any of other players stepping up to the plate a giving assurance that they have his back? GOALIES SHOULD NOT BE BLAMED AND TOLD TO BE TRADED. The players have fault in this too but they're just not accepting it. Being Captain and Goalie is for sure, a really hard thing to do..Louu can handle it but...what about his teamates? This is a team sport and all players should have equal blame...everyone ALWAYS turns around and blames the goalie for letting them all in. But hey? Where are the players who, before every game say they have his back not only as captain but goalie. I don't see anyone out there scoring one and turing around and saying ' hey lou that was for you'. I know i know. Luongo couldve played better and yeah i agree..but whats with the 'Lets trade Luongo thing'?

[playboi19]

Looking from Luongo's point of view. He signed a 12 year deal and has played here for four years already. Maybe he doesn't want to go.

[Pinhead]

sf_rogue, on 12 May 2010 - 04:27 PM, said:

Schneider hasn't proved himself on the NHL level yet. But does need that opportunity. IMO, do make him backup next year. And allow him to play more if he does well. Rest Luongo more. Maybe a 60-20ish split if possible. More than what Raycroft got this year at 14 games started.

Get a full time goalie coach that can work with them every day.

Less pressure, less overuse, could do well for both goalies.



P.S. And to rehash the point repeatedly said on the forums, no more goalie captains.

There is no way to 'get rid' of his contract. I dont know any SANE General Manager who is going to take Luongo at age 31 with a huge 12 year contract . Not a city where Lui would waive his NMC to go play in anyways.

So, that being said, lets look at the second option.

That is resting Lui more. Give Cory Schneider 20 games so that he can prove himself and then we can get decent return for him. I dont think we have any more bonifide goalie prospects so perhaps we should think about drafting one this year.

[r3pLaY]

Luongo = FAIL. I knew this pice of crap would play a huge roll in our playoff exit.

[Brad Marchand]

I tend to disagree with people who suggest that we should trade Luongo. Of all those people, you were one of the few who actually made a rational argument.

While letting him go would free up cap space to improve various facets of our team, it would have a very negative effect on MG's reputation as a GM. It would send a message to other UFAs that you could sign a long term extension and get traded the next year, and most players don't like that.

That being said, I appreciate the effort put in to your reasoning. Many Luongo bashers don't do that.

[Kenny-Blankenship]

letting him walk would be a huge mistake, I think a rather large work load this year resulted in numbers that don't look so great on paper. How many games did he let in just 1 goal?
Sedins were contained by some great defensive players and that's what we sorely lacked. hope we can find the answers to our defensive woes

[izzi]

Respect for actually formulating an argument and raising a few key points, but moving Luongo and his contract and receiving anything of equal value is in my opinion impossible.

[canuckster16]

I agree with everything Metamucil has said in his post. That doesn't mean I hate Luongo, he's a great goalie, but if there's a deal that will help the team, then I won't be crying about Luongo moving. Right now Schneider is looking like Tukka Rask and trading him away is a bad idea, just ask the people of Toronto. And, Schneider won't want to play 20 games for however long his contract lasts as he is a starting goaltender.

[Tyler Durden]

Until EVERY player on the team is willing to take the blame, there isn't going to be a cup coming to town..

Our Defense was stretched to the MAXIMUM especially after losing Edler..
I can't BELIEVE they didn't dress a 7th D man last night, for Salo's sake, never mind the unforeseen injuries.

Luongo is too costly, and too long term to move.. He wouldn't go just anywhere, and most bonafide cup contenders are pretty set in net.. Add to that the playoff Rookies who are raising their own stocks right now, there's not many places shopping for an unproven tender..

I think AV (or whoever is going to be coaching this team next year) has to hold Lu accountable, and make him earn his spot.. He's got free reign right now, the captaincy was a bad idea, in hindsight. I'll admit, I didn't have a problem with it at first, but I think it's clear that he's got more important things to worry about right now. He shouldn't have to talk to the media, he needs to concentrate on his own game.

Game 3+4 the team shot themselves in their collective foot.. I don't really remember which is which, but I believe Lu was more at fault in one than the other.

Last night the couple goals were beauties.. The third was questionable, and the worst possible timing.

After that, we were in it momentarily, but the 4th goal was a back breaker, and it was another good goal.. The fifth, I think for the most part EVERYONE had given up.

Lu didn't play a horrible series.. He didn't play his best, and that's what we needed, even without the problems on D, he had to be pretty much flawless..

This should be an eye opening experience for Team Management, and hopefully they realize that our back end needs help, and Lu needs help.. A little healthy competition probably wouldn't hurt either (see Halak and Niemi).

Luongo is far from finished in Vancouver, I think the honeymoon is over, and hopefully our team has woken up and is ready to help make this work.

[Metamucil]

thanks to everyone who made decent and rational comments to this post so far. really its not a post about wanting to "get rid of luongo" but rather i see a trend i DONT want to continue with this franchise. in part my original post was a rant due to my watching luongos interview. to me, he didnt look like he was "deflated" or "let down" but rather like he was deflecting the questions because he knew he failed. thats just my opinion - right or wrong. everyone who has said that he should give up captaincy is completely correct. concentrate on your game, luongo - let the boys in front of you on the ice take care of the media and each others motivation. get your game back - the game we know you have - and give us something we have been waiting for for a long time.

cheers!

[sport scout]

its not happening. He will be here another 5 years at least. Gillis is going to do everything he can to get his game in order

[Tyler Durden]

It will be a measure of Gillis' management skills if he revokes Lu's captaincy..I think Lu should do the right thing a resign it..

[frazzY]

the only thing about luongo that needs to go is the captaincy... luongo is still one of the best goalies in the league and gives us as good of a shot as any other goalie to win the cup. this team needs better defense and better defensive coaching, i think the coaching staff needs a makeover.

[VicNuckleHead09]

Metamucil, on 12 May 2010 - 05:44 PM, said:

thanks to everyone who made decent and rational comments to this post so far. really its not a post about wanting to "get rid of luongo" but rather i see a trend i DONT want to continue with this franchise. in part my original post was a rant due to my watching luongos interview. to me, he didnt look like he was "deflated" or "let down" but rather like he was deflecting the questions because he knew he failed. thats just my opinion - right or wrong. everyone who has said that he should give up captaincy is completely correct. concentrate on your game, luongo - let the boys in front of you on the ice take care of the media and each others motivation. get your game back - the game we know you have - and give us something we have been waiting for for a long time.

cheers!

If your going to say that, then to add to your point I think it shouldt be about questioning Lou's dedication to his game. And It shouldt be about his effectiveness as a captain either.. Howerver. I think forwards and defence (who make the best captains IMO) look for someone to lift them up when their down. This is very hard for a goalie when he lets in 1 bad goal. It creates conflict, on and off the ice. I was thinking about game 3 and 4 in Vancouver and how Luongo going to his bench has to restrain SOB. Things like that need to stop, play with heart and emotion but dont lose your minds. (Lesson learned - NOW MOVE ON BOYS!)

[DreamHerO]

Lol sometimes I think MG's just giving him all that money to be a back-up in a few years with Schneider as starter onces h'e beast enough... I rofl i'ma idiot.

[CaNuCkSLoUiE23]

Gillis=god, on 12 May 2010 - 04:36 PM, said:

Luongo has a 11 years left on his contract which will be hard to sell

raycroft only signed with us for one year at 500,000 (correct me if im wrong here) and his play this year has proven he is worth more than that, plus after the way he played this year i think he is deserving of a starting job and can likely find one, so keeping him on to fight for a position is unlikely.

schenider is unproven but shows great potential so he's a wash at this point. but he should be given some games next year to prove himself

the biggest thing i am concerned with improving in the offseason (like most i'm sure) is defence. We have a good offensive core and a plethora of young skilled players with tons of potential that can play for cheap (grabner, schroeder, hodgson, shirokov etc) and hopefully raymond will resign.

I definitely feel bad for Luongo though he hasn't played stellar this year he did alright and showed us on many occasions that he still has the skills to be a difference maker, however he suffered quite a but from our weaker defence this year and more offensive style of play.

I say keep him around for a while longer but i don't think he should be captain, hes already under way too much pressure in such a fanatic market.

so here to a productive offseason gillis lets see what you can do

Actually, the laughs were paying razor

[elvis15]

Metamucil, on 12 May 2010 - 04:16 PM, said:

Let Luongo Go....(read before flaming)

So, I'm sure it's been mentioned, but I don't think Aquilini would approve of Gillis trying to buy Luongo out (he's paid $10M next year) since he has an NTC with no outs until 5yrs into his contract. Just saying...

[NuckifiedBenchWarmer]

r3pLaY, on 12 May 2010 - 04:49 PM, said:

Luongo = FAIL. I knew this pice of crap would play a huge roll in our playoff exit.

LUONGO? A FAIL? ....obviously you havent put on a pair of skates and stepped on the ice before. You're a fail.

[Lonny Bohonos]

If mr luongo doesn't pull his head out then the Canucks are in a serious bind.

Relying on schneider won't be an option he'll play max 20 games. If he sucks, he sucks if he plays well then he wants more money.

[kozmonaut]

This is no great alpha goalie, most are all comparitable skills, you cannot rely on your goalie to ride to the cup, its a team effort, many teams have won the cup with a sub par goalie (detroit)