I think that the Canucks keeping Luongo makes sense.
There, you read it.
The thing is, while the Canucks have played well, Vancouver
is looking at an uphill climb from now until the playoffs. See, here are the
standings:
1)
‘Hawks:
62 points, 10 games left
2)
Ducks: 57 points, 9 games left
3)
‘Nucks: 48 points, 10 games left
4)
Kings: 48 points, 9 games left
5)
Sharks: 47 points, 10 games left
6)
Wild: 46 points, 10 games left
7)
Blues: 44 points, 11 games left
8)
Red Wings: 43 points, 9 games left
9)
‘Yotes 40 points, 10 games left
10)
Stars: 39 points, 10 games left
11)
Oilers: 39 points, 10 games left
12)
Blue Jackets, 39 points, 9 games left
13)
Predators, 38 points, 8 games left
So the ‘Nucks are a long (or a “Luong”) way from clinching
the playoffs with things still tight. Worse still, Minny, as noted, are just 2
points back, meaning the Canucks could still slide to 7th place if
the Wild knock them out of first. I don’t think facing Anaheim or Chicago in
the first round is a good idea, do you?
The thing about goaltending, is, mentally, it’s the hardest
position in sports. Focus, concentration, whatever you want to call it, you
need it for 60 (or more) minutes a night. Then you need even more in the
playoffs, as that next goal can change the game or the Series in the opposite
direction.
It’s just so much to ask one person to do it, even in the
regular season. I’ve read several books on the famous 1972 Series between
Canada and USSR, and one thing that struck me is how Canada used two goalies
and the Soviets used one.
Now, all three goaltenders that played in that Series made
the Hall Of Fame. Think of Canada’s two goalies, Ken Dryden and Tony Esposito.
Dryden led the league in games played in 71/72, in addition to winning Calder
Trophy for Rookie Of The Year (After winning the Conn Smythe in 1971. Wake me
up when someone else does that). Esposito was 1, 2 or 3 in games played from
72/73 till 80/81. Plus he was 3rd in 70/71 and 4th in
69/70.
But coach Harry Sinden was adamant that the mental demands
of playing goal were too much for either of them for 8 games. So it was split
down the middle 4 goals each. Dryden may have struggled in his first two games,
but played well in the last 2, after Canada had fallen behind 3-1-1 in the
series. Tony played well, pretty much in all 4 games.
Tretiak played well, I’d say, until game 5, which the
Soviets won anyway. But, you could just see it, Canada had figured him out. The
Soviets stayed with him the rest of the way, and lost the final 3 games, giving
Canada one of it’s all time great international hockey moments. I rank this
ahead of the 1987 Canada Cup and 2010 Olympics. So should you.
Anyways, the point is, I’m not sold on Schneider being ready
for the rest of a close playoff race, which could resemble one of those old
pennant races in baseball (prior to the expanded playoffs of 1969). Think
Brooklyn / NY 1941, Boston / New York 1949, 1978. Boston / Minnesota / Detroit
/ Chicago /(sort of) California) 1967. It was the team with the best pitching
that won.
I have a feeling it will be the team with the better
goaltending that finishes first in the Northwest.
There is also the matter of how Luongo has handled it. Oh, I
should just go over to @strombone1. Despite his recent comments on his
contract, I’ve really loved the way he has handled the whole thing.
(Now, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but you have to wonder,
with no deal done, did the Canucks honestly believe they could get a deal done
this season, given Roberto’s contract. The signs here, are for a major
offseason move. Maybe all this was just a ruse to get him to play better?)
Luongo has played well. It’s just a recent slump (1-2-0,
3.56, .868) which might have had more to do with Roberto fretting on whether he
was staying or going, that brought his numbers down (7-4-3, 2.44, .904)
And come playoffs, who do the Canucks turn to if Schneider
falters?
References
Morrison, Scott. The Days Canada Stood Still: Canada vs USSR 1972. Warwick Pub. Group, 1992.
Official Site of the National Hockey League | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 9 April. 2013. <https://www.nhl.com>.
Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and
History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 9 April. 2014.
