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Vancouver Canucks: Roberto Luongo & Willie Mitchell Start Summer, Lucic

April 25, 2016, 2:49 PM ET [214 Comments]
Carol Schram
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
First things first—no need to panic about the Utica Comets today.

I got it wrong yesterday: Game 3 of their first-round AHL series against Albany will be on Tuesday, not tonight. So we'll save that story for tomorrow.

Second, we bid a fond playoff farewell to the Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild and Roberto Luongo's Florida Panthers after all three teams were eliminated on Sunday.

One thing all three games had in common from the losing sides—roars about the officiating.

The Flyers were probably the least outraged, for a change. I think they knew they'd gone about as far as they could go, and they had their share of power-play chances, including a long 5-on-3 thanks to a high-sticking minor call on Nicklas Backstrom that was actually a result of a Philadelphia stick hitting Ryan White in the face.

I probably feel most sorry for the Minnesota Wild, who overcame a 4-0 deficit to get to 5-4 in the dying seconds, then saw their season end due to a difference of millimetres.



My feelings towards Roberto Luongo and the Florida Panthers fall more into the "wryly wistful" category. Man, we give Ryan Miller a hard time now for his third-period collapses, when Luongo's late-game slip-ups have been legendary.

February 28, 2010: Zach Parise with 24 seconds to play



April 26, 2011: Jonathan Toews with 1:56 to play



Luongo's teams got him out of both those messes, but not last night, after John Tavares tied the game 1-1 with 54 seconds to play



Panthers fans are livid about this non-call on a trip that happened just before the goal.




Yes, it caused a dramatic outcome, but I can't say I'm surprised that it wasn't called as Matt Martin pulled out all the stops to protect the empty net.

In the end, it turns out to be one of those "learning" seasons for the Panthers, who took big strides, more quickly than originally expected. With their terrific young core and a determined Jaromir Jagr ready to come back, they'll be a fun team to watch again next year.

Before Sunday's game, Harvey Fialkov of the Florida Sun-Sentinel spoke with Panthers captain Willie Mitchell, who has been sidelined since mid-January with concussion issues. He hadn't spoken to the media as he didn't want to be a distraction, but was practicing every day with his team during their run.

"I'm just trying to keep myself busy and I'm not a quitter. I never quit on anything in my life," Mitchell said.

"I remember shaking hands with our owner at West Point Academy talking about being captain of the team and I remember him looking me in his eyes and he said, 'I know you're going to do the right thing with this bunch.'

"That's what I pride myself on, my integrity, my word and all that, so that's why I'm trying to make sure I do everything possible — I'm sure I've done a lot of things wrong — but I'm trying to make sure I pass on some knowledge with it."


Mitchell also acknowledged his strong bond with Luongo.

"I've been lucky. I've had the big skate. I've had the big summer twice," Mitchell said. "It's about Roberto. I look into his eyes every day and I know how much he wants that. I'm a good friend of his. That's my motivation, just to see that guy win."

The Panthers came up short, and Mitchell's career is almost certainly at an end, but the Islanders suffered a similar fate three years ago, when they pushed Pittsburgh to six games in an entertaining series. They also lost Game 7 to Washington last year, so it has taken them a few tries before they were able to take the next step. Before last night, the Islanders' last playoff series win came in 1993, when they ended the Pittsburgh Penguins' two-year mini-dynasty—against a team that included a young Jaromir Jagr.

Considering John Tavares was two years old in April of 1993, somehow this idea really underscores the fact that the old man has now been a part of this game for an entire generation.

I'm curious to see if last night's game marks the beginning of Tavares' ascension to superstar ranks. And I'm super-impressed that Thomas Greiss held the fort for the Islanders while Jaroslav Halak is still out with injury.

So—with the Blackhawks and Blues facing off for Game 7 tonight and the Ducks trying to eliminate the Predators, I'm 4-for-6 so far in my first-round predictions. I erroneously picked the Panthers and the Kings to win their series.

Right now, I feel pretty good about my Hawks and Ducks picks. Let's see if that's till true tomorrow.

Meanwhile, back on Milan Lucic watch...

Chris Nichols of Today's Slapshot has the transcript of an Elliotte Friedman interview with a Calgary radio station from this morning.

Friedman reiterates that Lucic has said that he wants to stay in Los Angeles long term, and says that he expects contract talks to resume in earnest this week. The dilemma boils down to this:

“That’s the tough thing, is how much do you want to leave on the table. I think Milan Lucic is honest when he says he wants to stay, but I think at the end of the day it’s going to come down he’s going to have an idea of how much he’s going to leave on the table if he stays in L.A., and is that what he wants to do. And if the answer is yes, it’ll get done.”


Friedman also wonders how much Lucic will be worth going forward—not necessarily because of he wear and tear on his body as he ages, but simply based on the impact he now has in games.

“I just feel in the playoffs this year I never really saw him as changing the game, like I did see earlier in his career. I don’t think it’s because he’s hurt. I think he’s in good shape. I think he’s in a good situation. I just wonder if teams are finding a better way to play him."


As we count down the days to Saturday's draft lottery, with any luck we're also counting down to Lucic's contract extension with the Kings!
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