Follow me on twitter @IanEsplen for talk about hockey, sports and life in general anytime


I was asked to write a blog on Vancouver goaltending situation with my thoughts on it, so here it is.

Vancouver goaltending is in a “rock solid” state right now. Roberto Luongo, Eddie Lack, Joacim Eriksson and Joe Cannata make up what might be the best foursome in any NHL organization’s crease.

Right now Luongo is the No. 1 guy. Many of the “Lumour Mongers” out there believe he is pissed off and that there is a possibility that he will hold out in order to force a trade.

Gillis has made it very clear that is not going to happen. He will be the No. 1 or he will be sitting at home.

Before seeing Kovalchuk leave, I would have said that there is zero possibility of Luongo sitting out and leaving all that money on the table, even if he is unhappy (which, I think he is relatively fine with the situation now). But I guess if Kovy is willing to leave the money behind, (although there are a ton of rumours predicting he will make more in Russia) Than I guess there is a possibility of Lu doing it as well.

Still, I can’t see him doing it and I would put it at about 95% that we’ll see him in Vancouver’s net next season.

Reason 1- John Tortorella
It’s no secret the Torts has been one of Roberto Luongo’s biggest fans since he started coaching in the NHL. While he was in Tampa Bay he tried feverishly to acquire the netminder on more than one occasion. During his brief stint away from coaching while he was with TSN, he called Luongo something along the lines of the best player/goalie in the NHL on more than one occasion. And now that he is the head coach of the Canucks, he again talked about how excited he was to finally get him in an interview with TSN.

“He’s our No. 1 goalie.”

Lu wanted to go to another team. This Vancouver team will be a different team under Torts.

Reason 2- Being No. 1
The only real reason Luongo wanted out of Vancouver was to step aside and let his pal Cory Schneider run with the ball. He saw that Schneider was younger and he saw that Schneider was supposed to be the future.

This was not a player that wanted out for selfish reasons such as Heatley, Pronger or even to a certain extent Bure. Luongo wanted out so he could play. And now that he will be given the opportunity to play in a better defencive system and play 60+ games, don’t be shocked if he posted Vezina like number s next season.

Reason 3- Olympics
I believe Luongo wants to be Canada’s goalie at the Olympics. To make that team, he needs to play and he needs to play well. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, Luongo’s best chance of making that team is in Vancouver. Period!

Reason 4- Money
Would you want to tell your wife you were leaving 6.7 million on the table? That’s a lot less shoes for her.


What seems to have been misinterpreted by outsiders is that the goalie controversy was all about choosing sides.

Outsiders, for some odd reason, seem to think that you can only like one player. And, therefore by default all other players are inferior and thus should feel disrespected.

That has never been the case for the real Vancouver Canucks fans. Real Canucks fans are and always will be Roberto Luongo fans. Real Canucks fans are Cory Schneider fans.

Vancouver had two outstanding goalies last year and whoever was in net, that was our guy for the night.

Anyone who wants to think otherwise – from Canucks fans everywhere – go find another bridge to live under. There isn’t anything more to talk about.

And on that note, this shall be that last time it is blogged about


FHFF








July 13th – Winnipeg – Corydon Avenue at Cockburn Street – 12-4
July 14th - Regina – Scarth Street Mall – 12-3
July 16th – Calgary – Eau Claire Market – 2-6
July 17th - Edmonton – Centennial Square – 4-8
July 19th - Victoria – Saanich Plaza – 2-6
July 20th – Vancouver – Granville Street – 12-6

For more information about the event and on how you can donate visit www.fiveholeforfood.com.



Well that's a wrap.

Ian


***********


If you are interested in advertising your business to people in the Vancouver area or to hockey fans across North America, you can contact me by clicking the “CONTACT” button at the top of the page.

KINDLE USERS in the United States of America only: Sign up for Canucks Buzz; a one-stop feed for all things Canucks-related on HockeyBuzz. Content is delivered instantly to your Kindle reader whenever a new Canucks-related blog is published. For more information click here.