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It didn't take long for the sore losers in Nuckland to turn on their idol, did it? Since Vancouver got bounced by the Blackhawks and Bobby Lu got ripped for seven goals in Game Six, and the team for a shocking--to Nucklovers--23 goals in the six game series, the blame game from fans and the press has now settled on Captain Roberto himself.
The Vancouver Sun's Cam Cole tells it this way:
Luongo Might Have To Go
At what point does cost exceed benefit?
Cam Cole, The Vancouver Sun/Tuesday, May 12, 2009
All right, bitter Vancouverites. You've vented, you've called him a bum and a waste of money and a choker and ... have we left anything out?
So the bloom is off the rose, and Roberto Luongo is not your man any more. We get it. You want him gone.
Well, then. This column will make you happy, because there is a case to be made for it.
A case that has nothing to do with whether he is a terrific goaltender or not. A case that has nothing to do with the seven goals he let in, a few of them suspect, on Monday night, or the 21 the Chicago Blackhawks put past him in the six games it took to polish off the Canucks.
That wasn't pretty, but it wasn't the reason, either.
It's simple, really.
The Western Conference final, not knowing the result of Tuesday night's game as this is being written, will feature Nikolai Khabibulin in goal for the Hawks against either Detroit's Chris Osgood or Anaheim's Jonas Hiller. In the East, it's Carolina's Cam Ward or Boston's Tim Thomas against Washington's Simeon Varlamov or Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury.
The winning goaltenders of the Stanley Cup since the last time a "franchise" goaltender - Martin Brodeur in 2003 - backstopped the victorious team have been Khabibulin, Ward, Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Osgood, who has won two Cups already and could make it three this spring. Among the losing finalists' goalies have been Dwayne Roloson and Ray Emery.
The point is, there are plenty of ways to skin a cat in today's NHL that do not involve tying up $8 million in the goaltending position. And most of the successful teams out there in playoff land have found the way.
That's not to say they wouldn't love to have a franchise goaltender, but the question is: at what point does cost exceed benefit?
Vancouver GM Mike Gillis will have that conundrum staring him in the face as he sizes up his options for rebuilding the Canucks before next season begins.
On one level, it seems a scandalous suggestion that a team should volunteer to be weaker in goal.
On another, trading Luongo this summer might be the only way the Canucks can afford to make the changes necessary to take the next step.
Even with Luongo, they clearly weren't good enough on defence to overcome an aggressive, fast Chicago team that kept rolling line after line of young legs at them.
It may, in fact, be time to let go of the common wisdom hereabouts that the Canucks have as good a top-four defence as there is in the league. The Hawks put the lie to that bit of hubris.
If they lose Mattias Ohlund, they are going to need a puck-moving defenceman.
Enter Florida's Jay Bouwmeester, whom Gillis likes very much. He wouldn't be cheap.
When Mats Sundin goes, taking his pricey ticket with him, Gillis will need to do much better with his next set of forward acquisitions, and if you can see a way of injecting front-line scoring talent into the lineup that doesn't require trading a major asset, let's hear it.
The Canucks would probably have to take a goaltender back in trade, whether that's Carey Price from Montreal or whomever from Philly or Washington, to name just a few contending teams that might be looking for an impact goalie.
That would mean one of the above battling Cory Schneider for the Canucks goaltending job ... with a lot better team in front of him. Not a terrible option.
Meanwhile, the Canucks could probably ask for, and get, a Jeff Carter from Philly, or a scoring forward and a draft pick or two from just about any team that sees Roberto Luongo as the missing piece of the puzzle. And in doing so, if they keep Daniel and Henrik Sedin, they might finally have the secondary scoring line that Sundin and Pavol Demitra never delivered.
Philly hasn't had goaltending since Ron Hextall. One of these days, the Flyers are going to figure that out.
The trick for Gillis, at any rate, is to find the team that has the itch, and the available players and/or draft picks to scratch it with.
The trick is to find a team that hasn't yet figured out what must now be dawning on the Canucks: That a franchise goaltender can only go as far as his supporting cast allows, and the one in place at the moment is not nearly good enough.
Roberto Luongo is the farthest thing from a bum, but he's only got one body to offer the cause, and the Canucks might need, when all is said and done, a half dozen.
By the time summer is over, this will finally have to be Mike Gillis's team. But it won't happen without a bold decision or two.
ccole@vancouversun.com
---
So does that bold decision involve, possibly, Ottawa?
Should Bryan Murray punch his speed dial and offer part or all of the SpezleyHeatza Equation to Mad Mike Gillis, he who has shelled out the shekels for Suave Swedes...only to see his Moby Nucks sink beneath the playoff waves?
And if not...what next?
Our GM Hockey gang will no doubt have some juicy perspectives on the matter.
The Vancouver Sun's Cam Cole tells it this way:
Luongo Might Have To Go
At what point does cost exceed benefit?
Cam Cole, The Vancouver Sun/Tuesday, May 12, 2009
All right, bitter Vancouverites. You've vented, you've called him a bum and a waste of money and a choker and ... have we left anything out?
So the bloom is off the rose, and Roberto Luongo is not your man any more. We get it. You want him gone.
Well, then. This column will make you happy, because there is a case to be made for it.
A case that has nothing to do with whether he is a terrific goaltender or not. A case that has nothing to do with the seven goals he let in, a few of them suspect, on Monday night, or the 21 the Chicago Blackhawks put past him in the six games it took to polish off the Canucks.
That wasn't pretty, but it wasn't the reason, either.
It's simple, really.
The Western Conference final, not knowing the result of Tuesday night's game as this is being written, will feature Nikolai Khabibulin in goal for the Hawks against either Detroit's Chris Osgood or Anaheim's Jonas Hiller. In the East, it's Carolina's Cam Ward or Boston's Tim Thomas against Washington's Simeon Varlamov or Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury.
The winning goaltenders of the Stanley Cup since the last time a "franchise" goaltender - Martin Brodeur in 2003 - backstopped the victorious team have been Khabibulin, Ward, Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Osgood, who has won two Cups already and could make it three this spring. Among the losing finalists' goalies have been Dwayne Roloson and Ray Emery.
The point is, there are plenty of ways to skin a cat in today's NHL that do not involve tying up $8 million in the goaltending position. And most of the successful teams out there in playoff land have found the way.
That's not to say they wouldn't love to have a franchise goaltender, but the question is: at what point does cost exceed benefit?
Vancouver GM Mike Gillis will have that conundrum staring him in the face as he sizes up his options for rebuilding the Canucks before next season begins.
On one level, it seems a scandalous suggestion that a team should volunteer to be weaker in goal.
On another, trading Luongo this summer might be the only way the Canucks can afford to make the changes necessary to take the next step.
Even with Luongo, they clearly weren't good enough on defence to overcome an aggressive, fast Chicago team that kept rolling line after line of young legs at them.
It may, in fact, be time to let go of the common wisdom hereabouts that the Canucks have as good a top-four defence as there is in the league. The Hawks put the lie to that bit of hubris.
If they lose Mattias Ohlund, they are going to need a puck-moving defenceman.
Enter Florida's Jay Bouwmeester, whom Gillis likes very much. He wouldn't be cheap.
When Mats Sundin goes, taking his pricey ticket with him, Gillis will need to do much better with his next set of forward acquisitions, and if you can see a way of injecting front-line scoring talent into the lineup that doesn't require trading a major asset, let's hear it.
The Canucks would probably have to take a goaltender back in trade, whether that's Carey Price from Montreal or whomever from Philly or Washington, to name just a few contending teams that might be looking for an impact goalie.
That would mean one of the above battling Cory Schneider for the Canucks goaltending job ... with a lot better team in front of him. Not a terrible option.
Meanwhile, the Canucks could probably ask for, and get, a Jeff Carter from Philly, or a scoring forward and a draft pick or two from just about any team that sees Roberto Luongo as the missing piece of the puzzle. And in doing so, if they keep Daniel and Henrik Sedin, they might finally have the secondary scoring line that Sundin and Pavol Demitra never delivered.
Philly hasn't had goaltending since Ron Hextall. One of these days, the Flyers are going to figure that out.
The trick for Gillis, at any rate, is to find the team that has the itch, and the available players and/or draft picks to scratch it with.
The trick is to find a team that hasn't yet figured out what must now be dawning on the Canucks: That a franchise goaltender can only go as far as his supporting cast allows, and the one in place at the moment is not nearly good enough.
Roberto Luongo is the farthest thing from a bum, but he's only got one body to offer the cause, and the Canucks might need, when all is said and done, a half dozen.
By the time summer is over, this will finally have to be Mike Gillis's team. But it won't happen without a bold decision or two.
ccole@vancouversun.com
---
So does that bold decision involve, possibly, Ottawa?
Should Bryan Murray punch his speed dial and offer part or all of the SpezleyHeatza Equation to Mad Mike Gillis, he who has shelled out the shekels for Suave Swedes...only to see his Moby Nucks sink beneath the playoff waves?
And if not...what next?
Our GM Hockey gang will no doubt have some juicy perspectives on the matter.
