Debunking The Roberto Luongo Myths

[smurf47]

Where have you been the last three years? It's been on Luongo the entire time.

Blowouts equals to Luongo not being a number one goalie, wins are despite Luongo.

Just ask Smurf47...

[guesswhere]

That team had so much heart. Had a few things gone differently they could have at least took Detroit to seven

[icycold]

Wow, one of the best reads on Loungo i've ever read and it left out a very important point, since the first time "buffy" was in chicago and ran roughshod over our beat up excuse for a defence that is still over rated today (by the way) the canucks with a lesser goalie would have completely embarressed like to the extent of 5-0, 6-0, 7-0, 8-0 scores in games.and bounced out without even a slim chance that Loungo provided. Why did we even get Alberts in the first place? A attempt to provide a answer to buffy in front of the net that not one canuck had the strength to move.

We still do not have bigtime shut down d-men on this team as in the likes of keith pronger in his prime who can be a game changer, ok maybe if you mixed Alberts with hammer and the result would be awesome but no we do not have that.

I liked the part of how it was explained as in lack of scoring against boston panned out, THIS issue MG has tried to address too as in finding big guys who can play center and wreak havoc in front of the net and provide much needed screens because other teams have some of the top goalies in the world as well that can pretty much stop everything they can see. The attempts at this was Booth first and then Kassian. Sadly booth has been injured a lot (still not quite the size for the job) and Kassian (more suited for the job) but not consistant enough because of lack of experience due to his age.

If horvat continues to grow and gets a 3-5 more inches and puts on another 20 pounds, wow that sure would help matters! Let's hope Kassian continues his evelopment under Torts, this will do well to help the canucks in the really close near future and beyond. I can hardly wait to see shinkaruk grow some and get some development as well and come into the line-up soon, i wish Bure would coach this kid.

[canidiot]

what makes the topic of goaltending a difficult one in Vancouver is the constant protection of the fragile egos of goaltenders. or the myth of the fragile ego. lou is a very strong personality and confident. so much so that he overshadowed his last coach. lou is not a Faberge egg. if my work paid me millions of dollars a year, I don't think I would be worried about a little criticism.

stats are great for making an argument but they must be applied properly. its funny when the topic is breakdowns at key points and the defence is all time stats. lets average out his stats to cover any perceived weakness.

lou loves his poker. I wonder if he has as big of a tell at the poker table as he does when his game is off. most of you out there know it. when he stretches out and falls forward leaving the net completely exposed. or my personal favorite is the goal from behind the goal line in the corner. lou has huge feet and if he is not paying attention, they are easy to bank pucks off of.

in my mind lou's biggest weakness is puck handling. although it has improved greatly over the last few years it was pretty shocking when he first arrived in Vancouver. rarely did a puck end up on a Vancouver stick if he had lots of time. its not just and elite goaltender that can play the puck. many novice goaltenders can play the puck better.

after reading this you would normally call me a hater. because that's the other myth. if you don't bow down and claim he is the best goaltender ever, your a hater. this leads to leaving lou in the net on an off night until the game is out of reach. that makes the loss look like lou's fault. when actually its the coaches for not recognizing the tells.

it is not lou's team. he is just a player like any other player. as a fan it seems a little out of line when our goaltender feels he is above criticism. especially when we get bounced in the first round, two years in a row.

if he blames the fact he does not have a hall of fame defence, you can blame his contract. when one player takes up that much salary cap space, there is no room to pay the rest.

I like lou and enjoy watching him play. but don't tell me what I see on the ice is a myth.

[canidiot]

October cometh.... or is that just a myth as well.....how can you call yourself elite and take a month to warm up to playing hockey.. and a week to cool down during the playoffs.

[mrhopeless]

"Is Luongo happy that he thought he was going to get traded and he was in limbo for months? No, but he will get over it because once again he is THE GUY!" - John Garrett

- John apparently likes the taste of boots.

[Dr. Crossbar]

The problem with the Canucks hasn't been Luongo or goaltending in recent years. It's been a lack of goal scoring not to mention key injuries. They only scored five goals in the 2011 SC final series. Yes Luongo played a part in the matter but five goals the entire series.

If anything, the Canucks have been enjoying the best goaltending they've had since the McLean years and earlier with Hanlon and Brodeur. If Luongo wasn't here, and Schneider didn't come up through Vancouver, we'd still be going through goalies like we did with Weekes, Irbe, Essensa, Potvin, Snow, Auld, Cloutier and so on ... that was something to bitch about, Luongo shouldn't be. I haven't forgotten the goalie graveyard days at all. Those were hard years to endure. I'll take trying to win with Luongo any day.

[Moonshinefe]

The only criticism I've had of Luongo is he's had some really, really shaky games in the playoffs. Is he an elite goaltender? Yes, his stats speak for themselves. His gold medal, too. Can he handle media pressure? I also think so, absolutely. He has a good sense of humour and given the drama he's been through, especially as a competitive, prideful man, I think he's handled it quite well.

What worries me is his playoff performances at times. Yes, the team has been just as bad at those times, but sometimes you just need a goalie to stand on his head and bail the team out. Quick, Rinne, Lundqvist, etc. have provided this numerous times for their teams. Luongo has been shaky in the past. That being said, I think Luongo is at a stage now where he's matured and will take pressure better. That, coupled with Torts' more defensive "complete game" style, I think Luongo will do well given these circumstances.

Also, Luongo was excellent in the last playoffs, despite us losing. So I have confidence in him moving forward.

[Riviera82]

The problem with the Canucks hasn't been Luongo or goaltending in recent years. It's been a lack of goal scoring not to mention key injuries. They only scored five goals in the 2011 SC final series. Yes Luongo played a part in the matter but five goals the entire series.

If anything, the Canucks have been enjoying the best goaltending they've had since the McLean years and earlier with Hanlon and Brodeur. If Luongo wasn't here, and Schneider didn't come up through Vancouver, we'd still be going through goalies like we did with Weekes, Irbe, Essensa, Potvin, Snow, Auld, Cloutier and so on ... that was something to bitch about, Luongo shouldn't be. I haven't forgotten the goalie graveyard days at all. Those were hard years to endure. I'll take trying to win with Luongo any day.