We will regret the way this franchise treated Roberto Luongo

[BigRedMachine]

I am going to preface this by saying that I am not a Luongo fanboy. Far from it. I have actually been fairly critical of him in the past. That being said, I think the Canucks management his completely botched this goalie situation and turned what should have been an asset into a complete liability.

I am have been a fan for more than long enough to remember what a goalie graveyard this franchise has been, particularly between the departure of Kirk McLean, and the arrival of Roberto Luongo. We went through a number of goalies, including Garth Snow, Kevin Weekes, Alex Auld, Dan Cloutier, Felix Potvin, Johan Hedberg and Arturs Irbe, to name but a few. Some of those were never cut out to be number one goalies, but some had decent careers outside of Vancouver. Something about this franchise seemed to sap the confidence of our goalies.

When Luongo arrived, he brought some stability between the pipes in Vancouver that we hadn't had for a long time. While he has never won the Vezina, he has certainly turned in some memorable performances, and is probably the best goaltender to ever put on the Canucks uniform to date.

In 2009, Gillis decided to sign him to a front-end loaded 12 year contract with a no-trade clause. I'm not sure why management chose to handcuff themselves in that way, but you would think this would indicate that they saw him as their #1 goaltender for the forseeable future.

Cory Schneider's development into a top notch goaltender provided the Canucks with an embarassment of riches in net. Yet somehow, management squandered that advantage.

During the 2012 series with the Kings, the Canucks decided to switch horses mid-stream, and start Schneider over Luongo. It wasn't like Luongo's play was costing us the series, but I guess they figured a fresh face in net might kick-start our non-existent offence. It didn't.

There was no reason to treat that change as permanent, but the Canucks organization did. For reasons unknown to me, they made it clear Schneider was their guy from here on in, and Luongo wasn't wanted.

Nonetheless, Gillis seemed to have some pretty unrealistic expectations about what he might get in return for a guy with 10 years left on his contract and a significant cap hit. So, at the start of the season in 2013, Roberto Luongo was still a Canuck.

Management then did a whole song and dance about how we had two #1's, even though it was pretty clear they were shopping Luongo. And after alternating them for awhile, they essentially elected to bench Luongo for no obvious reason. Schneider had the better numbers , but Luongo was playing well, had the hot hand in February, and certainly deserved to start at least as often as any other NHL backup would. And why you wouldn't want to showcase a guy you are trying to trade is beyond me. Anyway, management chose to play Schneider almost exclusively down the stretch, which may very well have contributed to his getting injured toward the end of the season.

So with Schneider injured and then sick, Luongo gets the start against the Sharks. Despite playing well in Games 1 and 2, the Canucks again decide to switch horses mid-stream, and start Schneider, who hasn't played in two weeks and is recovering from injury and illness, in a must-win game. The result was pretty predictable. In the post-game press conference, Vigneault pretty much throws Schneider under the bus and doesn't take any responsibility for his own boneheaded decision. In the post-season press conference Gilis made it pretty clear that he still plans to move Luongo.

I think both goalies dealt with this crappy situation with class throughout. It was clear they both wanted the situation over and done with, but there was hardly a complaint throughout. Management, on the other hand, has inflamed the controversy at nearly every opportunity. I think they've actually managed to undermine the self-confidence of both of their goalies, and I wouldn't be surprised if both of them have soured significantly on the Canucks organization. He's certainly managed to reduce Luongo's trade value even further.

Quite frankly, I think management has dealt with one of our all-time greatest players in a callous and high-handed way, and in the process done a disservice to Roberto, to the fans, and to the organization. They could have dealt with this situation in a way that left allot less bad blood all around.

As I watched the Canucks try to mend fences with Pavel Bure (who was similarly run out of town) this season, it occurred to me that while we were re-building one bridge, we were burning down another. I get the feeling we are going to look back on this fiasco someday in a similar light.

I wish Roberto all the best in the future. I wish the best of luck to Cory Schneider: he will need it in dealing with this franchise, its often unrealistic fan base, and its quite frankly incompetent management. Here's hoping we don't become another goalie graveyard.

[TheRussianRocket.]

Yes we will..

[Nino]

Lou wants out, let it be. Cory is going to be a good goalie for us moving forward.

[JensenFan2011]

nah luongo sucks

[aqua59]

I am going to preface this by saying that I am not a Luongo fanboy. Far from it. I have actually been fairly critical of him in the past. That being said, I think the Canucks management his completely botched this goalie situation and turned what should have been an asset into a complete liability.

I am have been a fan for more than long enough to remember what a goalie graveyard this franchise has been, particularly between the departure of Kirk McLean, and the arrival of Roberto Luongo. We went through a number of goalies, including Garth Snow, Kevin Weekes, Alex Auld, Dan Cloutier, Felix Potvin, Johan Hedberg and Arturs Irbe, to name but a few. Some of those were never cut out to be number one goalies, but some had decent careers outside of Vancouver. Something about this franchise seemed to sap the confidence of our goalies.

When Luongo arrived, he brought some stability between the pipes in Vancouver that we hadn't had for a long time. While he has never won the Vezina, he has certainly turned in some memorable performances, and is probably the best goaltender to ever put on the Canucks uniform to date.

In 2009, Gillis decided to sign him to a front-end loaded 12 year contract with a no-trade clause. I'm not sure why management chose to handcuff themselves in that way, but you would think this would indicate that they saw him as their #1 goaltender for the forseeable future.

Cory Schneider's development into a top notch goaltender provided the Canucks with an embarassment of riches in net. Yet somehow, management squandered that advantage.

During the 2012 series with the Kings, the Canucks decided to switch horses mid-stream, and start Schneider over Luongo. It wasn't like Luongo's play was costing us the series, but I guess they figured a fresh face in net might kick-start our non-existent offence. It didn't.

There was no reason to treat that change as permanent, but the Canucks organization did. For reasons unknown to me, they made it clear Schneider was their guy from here on in, and Luongo wasn't wanted.

Nonetheless, Gillis seemed to have some pretty unrealistic expectations about what he might get in return for a guy with 10 years left on his contract and a significant cap hit. So, at the start of the season in 2013, Roberto Luongo was still a Canuck.

Management then did a whole song and dance about how we had two #1's, even though it was pretty clear they were shopping Luongo. And after alternating them for awhile, they essentially elected to bench Luongo for no obvious reason. Schneider had the better numbers , but Luongo was playing well, had the hot hand in February, and certainly deserved to start at least as often as any other NHL backup would. And why you wouldn't want to showcase a guy you are trying to trade is beyond me. Anyway, management chose to play Schneider almost exclusively down the stretch, which may very well have contributed to his getting injured toward the end of the season.

So with Schneider injured and then sick, Luongo gets the start against the Sharks. Despite playing well in Games 1 and 2, the Canucks again decide to switch horses mid-stream, and start Schneider, who hasn't played in two weeks and is recovering from injury and illness, in a must-win game. The result was pretty predictable. In the post-game press conference, Vigneault pretty much throws Schneider under the bus and doesn't take any responsibility for his own boneheaded decision. In the post-season press conference Gilis made it pretty clear that he still plans to move Luongo.

I think both goalies dealt with this crappy situation with class throughout. It was clear they both wanted the situation over and done with, but there was hardly a complaint throughout. Management, on the other hand, has inflamed the controversy at nearly every opportunity. I think they've actually managed to undermine the self-confidence of both of their goalies, and I wouldn't be surprised if both of them have soured significantly on the Canucks organization. He's certainly managed to reduce Luongo's trade value even further.

Quite frankly, I think management has dealt with one of our all-time greatest players in a callous and high-handed way, and in the process done a disservice to Roberto, to the fans, and to the organization. They could have dealt with this situation in a way that left allot less bad blood all around.

As I watched the Canucks try to mend fences with Pavel Bure (who was similarly run out of town) this season, it occurred to me that while we were re-building one bridge, we were burning down another. I get the feeling we are going to look back on this fiasco someday in a similar light.

I wish Roberto all the best in the future. I wish the best of luck to Cory Schneider: he will need it in dealing with this franchise, its often unrealistic fan base, and its quite frankly incompetent management. Here's hoping we don't become another goalie graveyard.

[lolwut?]

nah luongo sucks

[ey40]

To this date I still want to know why AV decided to start Cory:

a. when Luongo was not the main reason the Canucks were down 2-0 in the Kings series, and

b. when Luongo again was not the main reason the Canucks were down 2-0 in this year series, and Cory was not 100%.

Obviously AV treated him like trash, forgetting Luongo was the reason why he won the Jack Adams in 07.

[sam13371337]

this love fest with lu is taking on cult levels....

as a canuck fan who was supporting this team before lu ever played professional hockey, and will continue to support this team long after lu retires.... I just don't get it..

In terms of heart and passion, id take mclean over lu any day. In terms of skill, id take schneids.. Lu was definitely a good goalie, but nothing that would justify this.

(it is also worth remembering, Lu played on the greatest canuck generation ever assembled, and still he couldn't win a cup and was the direct cause of many playoff exits)

[Pears]

nah luongo sucks

[Monty]

No we won't, not at all.

Was he a good goaltender? Absolutely. Did he has some incredible seasons? Yup. But lets remember, he also had horrible performances as well. Not to mention the earlier years of consistently throwing his team under the bus. The "franchise" (management) also assembled a good team in front of him that let him have a sniff at winning the Stanley Cup. Oh yeah, and not to mention the $60M contract that the "franchise" gave him. He has been treated just fine.

What ended up happening was Cory Schneider. A goaltender that is 6 years younger than Luo, has a lower cap hit, and has never thrown his team under the bus. In fact, he is one of the few goaltenders in the league that breaks the traditional mold of "moody" goaltenders and seems to be well liked by both the media and his teammates.

Who would you rather have?

[lolwut?]

this love fest with lu is taking on cult levels....

as a canuck fan who was supporting this team before lu ever played professional hockey, and will continue to support this team long after lu retires.... I just don't get it..

In terms of heart and passion, id take mclean over lu any day. In terms of skill, id take schneids.. Lu was definitely a good goalie, but nothing that would justify this.

(it is also worth remembering, Lu played on the greatest canuck generation ever assembled, and still he couldn't win a cup and was the direct cause of many playoff exits)

[Fanuck]

When I think of the Luongo situation in Vancouver, I always come back to one thing - I look at arguably the most successful franchise in modern hockey history (at least in my generation of hockey) - the Red Wings - and I think of how they treat their players, ALL of their players, not just the supposed 'franchise' players or the 'starts'. I never remember hearing about the Red Wings ever treating their players poorly or unfairly - granted I don't know their franchise as well as some, but you simply never hear of the Red Wings doing anything except treating their players with respect and class.

A long time ago GMMG was quoted as saying he wanted to build the Canucks into the type of franchise that would attract elite players and UFA's simply by reputation of how their players are treated. As far as I can judge, he's doing the exact opposite. What UFA is going to want to come here now after this schmozzle?

[smithers joe]

the fans and the media are the ones who treated lu with disrespect, the same way they treat everyone in the organization when they feel let down somewhat. everyone here deserves our respect...it doesn't mean they can't be traded or fired but they pour more energy and effort into their jobs than any of us have ever invested in anything we've done....

[sting]

Not a big fan of how this went down.

That said.... Bledsoe-Brady, Montana-S.Young, Vanbiesbrouck- Richter, Irbe-Ward, Bryzgalov-Hiller, Fuhr-Ranford are just a few examples of organizations ensuring continued success by going with younger players who have many years left in their primes versus the alternative.

[Average Joe]

Yup remember when Kirk mclean left. We haven't made it back to the cup final until Lu gets us there. Now if he left, it will be the dark ages of Canucks franchise. Cory will be the next Dan Cloutier.....I guarantee it.

[JensenFan2011]

nah luongo sucks

[Zamboni_14]

Yup remember when Kirk mclean left. We haven't made it back to the cup final until Lu gets us there. Now if he left, it will be the dark ages of Canucks franchise. Cory will be the next Dan Cloutier.....I guarantee it.

[Bigturk8]

I think they treated him pretty well until this off season. It would have been better for the franchise that he was moved.

I do not feel one bit sorry for Luongo. This is a business and Luongo comes out of this with over 60 million reason to feel good. He doesn't need his ego stroked.

[DarthMelvin]

this love fest with lu is taking on cult levels....

as a canuck fan who was supporting this team before lu ever played professional hockey, and will continue to support  this team long after lu retires....  I just don't get it..

In terms of heart and passion, id take mclean over lu any day.  In terms of skill, id take schneids..  Lu was definitely a good goalie, but nothing that would justify this.

(it is also worth remembering, Lu played on the greatest canuck generation ever assembled, and still he couldn't win a cup and was the direct cause of many playoff exits)

[DarthMelvin]

lol it was a joke people