canuckbeliever Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Kevin Weekes knows both goaltending and Vancouver, having played for the Canucks behind Kirk McLean from 1998 to 2000. So there is weight to the analyst’s strong opinions on the city’s treatment of its new-old-new starting goaltender. Sportsnet.ca caught up with Weekes, 38, to discuss Vancouver’s relationship with the Canucks, Roberto Luongo’s unique situation heading into the 2013-14 campaign, and the difficult angles facing whoever claims Team Canada’s crease in Sochi. SN: What do you read into Roberto Luongo switching agents this summer even though he’s locked into his contract until 2022? Kevin Weekes: “One of the things about an agent role, it’s not only about getting a new contract or signing as a free agent or getting you drafted. There’s a lot of advice and counsel that comes with being an agent. Roberto had a longstanding relationship with his past agent, Gilles Lupien. He had him since he was in the Quebec league, and it’s been a challenging three years in Vancouver. “Now that I’m on the other side, I understand the value of perception even more. Take Luongo and take McLean — I played with both of them. Both of them were excellent goalies, and I think Roberto has a chance to be a Hall of Famer. Both these guys are great goalies for the Vancouver franchise, yet everybody raves about Kirk and you still have people that don’t give Roberto his respect and are hypercritical of Roberto. “When you look at that, the way he handled himself this past year was awesome, especially on his Twitter feed. The way he was with Cory (Schneider) was great. Covering West Coast games for Hockey Night in Canada, I know they had a great relationship. Even though things got turbulent at times, he handled himself well behind the scenes with his teammates.” SN: So where does Luongo go from here? Weekes: “Vancouver missed the boat. They should’ve traded him two years ago – I said that. They’ve should’ve traded him a year ago. Bo Horvat (draft pick selected by Vancouver in the Schneider trade) has a chance to be a really good player; I watched him a few times this year in London. They need centres, there’s no doubt about that, but I don’t think they got the max return. “It’s time for Roberto to establish new representation. J.P. Barry is a great agent; he worked for us at the NHLPA. Pat Brisson is one of the best agents in the business as well. It’s a natural evolution. When you take stock of things, if I’m Roberto, (switching agents) is a move that makes sense.” SN: How do you think he will be received as the starter this fall? Weekes: “Van City is an unbelievable city and a great hockey market. There’s just so much negativity that comes out of there. At this point in time they’re one of the best franchises in the league; they came within one game of winning the Stanley Cup (in 2011). They had the best overall power play that year, the best penalty kill (in the West) that year. They won the Jennings that year, scored the most goals in the league. High-energy team, fun team to watch. What’s there to complain about? O.K., you didn’t win and everybody’s in the business to win, but that ticks quite a few boxes. (In 2012) they won the Presidents’ Trophy. “At what point in time does Roberto start earning their respect? He won a gold medal for Team Canada on home ice. I think he’s done an exceptional job. The luxury is they had two great goalies. Now, ironically enough, it’s Roberto’s net again. I don’t think it’s incumbent on Roberto; it’s incumbent on management, it’s incumbent on ownership and the coaching staff and, to some extent, the fan base. They need to embrace him. “Not every time a goal goes in, you’re yelling at him or chirping him on Twitter or on talk radio. You got to get behind your guys. It’s a basic premise in life: If you tell someone, ‘I believe in you’ and you’re supportive of them, it increases their chances of being successful. “Get behind your team. Being negative won’t help you win the Stanley Cup. There are people in those uniforms.” SN: So will Luongo get the start for Team Canada in Sochi? Weekes: “I don’t know, man. You look at his experience and how many times he’s repped Team Canada, going back to junior, he has a great chance. Corey Crawford has a chance; he’s been deserving of one all year, and naturally he’s been invited to the orientation camp. “Mike Smith had a season for the ages (in 2011-12) in Phoenix. He’s on the radar; (Coyotes goaltending coach) Sean Burke has done a great job with him. He’s on the radar. It’s anybody’s ball game, but Roberto has the inside track. Whoever is on fire as we get closer to Sochi could be the guy, but those are the three I think they take.” You’ve played on international ice. What’s the biggest adjustment for NHL goalies? Weekes: “I played in the Spengler Cup. It took some getting used to. I ended up being the tournament MVP that year, Spengler ‘96, but to get oriented… the first couple practices were like, ‘Whoa, that’s a lot of room in the corner! Whoa, that’s a different angle!’ You cut down angles wrong and your margins for error are slimmer. “The players attack differently on the ice. We’re starting to see it more in NHL, but the (defence) join the rush more often (on big ice). You used to see it all the time at the Canada Cup or World Cup — Brian Leetch or Larry Murphy are jumping up in the rush. But when you go back to the NHL, only four or five teams play that way. On international ice, when the D join the rush, it spreads out the options and makes for a different game.” Which Canadians do you believe were unjustly left off the orientation camp roster? Weekes: “Spezz (Jason Spezza) should’ve definitely got an invitation. Jarome (Iginla) should’ve, just based on his body of work. Here’s one the challenges: With the orientation roster, everyone says, ‘We have enough talent to fill two or three teams in Canada,’ and we do. But we can’t! We have to narrow it down to one team, so naturally it leads to guys being omitted that should be on.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lychees Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Weekes' opinion is as relevant as his tenure in the NHL also is it just me or is he trying to come off as super intelligent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drouin Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I couldn't care less what Kevin Weekes thinks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigpush Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 http://www.sportsnet...canada-starter/ Kevin Weekes should stick to doing nothing. Terrible goalie now terrible commentator. To say a lot of negativity spews out of Canucks fans and blame them for the Luongo saga is absolutely bush league. He indirectly portrayed the fan base as to blame for the situation. Not sure why Weekes felt the need to call out the fan base especially when they have supported Luongo over the past 2 seasons and felt empathy for Lu. Maybe Weekes was mad because the fans were on him when he was performing terribly in Van Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockhart Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I hope I'm not the only one that completely disagrees with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck nit Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Weekes: “Vancouver missed the boat. They should’ve traded him two years ago – I said that. They’ve should’ve traded him a year ago. ...I don’t think they got the max return.`` Nothing new here. Gillis blew it. Luo has to play and suck it up and take his 18,000 dollars per day and be happy until he can get out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmania Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Surprisingly that wasn't actually that bad. In fact I would say it was quite a good job by Weekes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 A lot of negativity does spew out of Canucks fans, as well as bush league media in this town/province/country. Some fans have supported Luo but many others have jumped on him for every bad game or goal he has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canada Hockey Place Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I don't think he's saying anything new. Just pointing out the obvious. Which is what he does. "“Get behind your team. Being negative won’t help you win the Stanley Cup. There are people in those uniforms.”" OMG! THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THOSE UNIFORMS!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Grimes Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Kevin Weekes is a biased moron and I stand by what I said in 2011; " @KevinWeekes Is this revenge for the Burrows-Auger thing? your commentating tonight was so biased I'd swear you crap Calgary Flames Logos. 10:08 PM - 22 Jan 2011 " - Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallstreetamigo Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I am not the biggest Weekes fan but there is not much in that commentary that I do not agree with actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck nit Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 OMG! THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THOSE UNIFORMS!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Bang Boogie Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Kevin "Heads up play, folks" Weekes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilduce39 Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Surprisingly that wasn't actually that bad. In fact I would say it was quite a good job by Weekes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NucksBruins Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Weekes can be a douche, but iN this case, he has a point. Ever since Lou arrived in Vancouver, every goal he allows is dissected and analyzed with some fans all too ready to say "See? The guy is overrated." I am not 100% sold on Luongo as being an all time great, BUT I find myself defending him all too often online and in real life after he loses a game. The fans in this province can be really great, but there seems to be a lot of rooting for the underdog and against the favorites. Gillis screwed this up and that contract will chain Luongo to the Canucks for the foreseeable future, but he gets way too much blame when the Canucks lose and not enough credit for the victories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckbeliever Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 I hope I'm not the only one that completely disagrees with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetica Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I didn't think that was a horrible take at all, and I'm not a Weekes fan. In fact, I thought he was pretty dead on with some of his statements, especially this one: “Get behind your team. Being negative won’t help you win the Stanley Cup. There are people in those uniforms.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soshified Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 The media still spews out negativity. And so does the fans, not all of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckRow Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Weekes: “Vancouver missed the boat. They should’ve traded him two years ago – I said that. They’ve should’ve traded him a year ago. ...I don’t think they got the max return.`` Nothing new here. Gillis blew it. Luo has to play and suck it up and take his 18,000 dollars per day and be happy until he can get out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theshield Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 http://www.sportsnet...canada-starter/ Kevin Weekes should stick to doing nothing. To say a lot of negativity spews out of Canucks fans and blame them for the Luongo saga is absolutely bush league. He indirectly portrayed the fan base as to blame for the situation. Not sure why Weekes felt the need to call out the fan base especially when they have supported Luongo over the past 2 seasons and felt empathy for Lu. Maybe Weekes was mad because the fans were on him when he was performing terribly in Van Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.