Pre-Game Talk: Luongo Returns: An Appreciation Thread || January 8th 2015

[tantalum]

Hmm...

So... lemme guess.. you were opposed to the Torts firing because you felt that Torts was an excellent coach and even better people manager?

And you supported his decision to spit in our franchise goalie's eye, cause a goalie controversy where there was none, start Eddie Lack because Eddie gave us the best chance to win at the Winter Classic.

Regardless of what the people of Vancouver wanted and regardless of the clustereff of Gillis/Luo/Schneid a couple years back.

Right?

1) Luongo asked for a trade well before the winter classic. A year before.

2) Torts...I figured he'd be given the start of the next season depending on post-season interview with the players but didn't care either way. Was more surprised Gillis was fired as I figured he deserved to stay and execute the game plan he was clearly moving to (and which Benning and Linden share).

3) Lack was the correct choice to start the game he was playing better and they needed points. Pride be damned. Suck it up. He asked to be traded but wants to be the face for the BC place game? Give me a break. Doesn't work that way. It was also the second time Luongo was being outplayed by his backup. And yes that is completely different than (allegedly) screwing a guy out of millions of dollars. It's not even in the same ballpark.

But none of that has anything to do with anything.

Luongo wasn't happy in Vancouver and that started well before the Winter Classic. He wanted to be traded before the winter classic. He wanted to be traded before the lockout and certainly during that season. He asked for that trade and eventually got it. But if I were in the crowd I wouldn't be applauding him. In the end while the best goaltender the franchise has seen the accolades he brought to the team are few.

Doesn't mean I would boo him (I don't tend to do that either) but I'm not going out of my way to pat the guy on the back.

 

[Scheme]

He was a great player. No doubt. When he said "I just want to do what's best for the team" when saying that is the worst possible thing he could do for the team I question the integrity of the player. He wanted what was best for him. That's fine but don't vail it with lies.

What was the "best for the team" was to keep Schneider and trade Luongo. This wasn't his decision to make and we don't know when that decision was made, when it was communicated to him, how it was communicated to him and what was said behind closed doors to Luongo. We always criticize a player on what he may have said behind closed doors but we don't focus on what might have been said to him. Shades of Bure.

Plus the whole cluster**** with "oh we're shipping you out", but then leaving him hanging in limbo.

 

[Scurr]

What was the "best for the team" was to keep Schneider and trade Luongo. This wasn't his decision to make and we don't know when that decision was made, when it was communicated to him, how it was communicated to him and what was said behind closed doors to Luongo. We always criticize a player on what he may have said behind closed doors but we don't focus on what might have been said to him. Shades of Bure.

Plus the whole cluster**** with "oh we're shipping you out", but then leaving him hanging in limbo.

I try not to infer too much. I know the best thing for the team would have been for him to shut the **** up. He didn't. Instead he came out and said "I just want to do what is best for the team" which wasn't good for the team at all. Maybe he said it to try and force managements hand into trading him, maybe he didn't, but he said it.

 

[IntangiBo]

Maybe we can give him the Mark Donnelly red carpet treatment.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

This thread...it's almost as if he never left. Nearly brings a tear to my eye. Imma get all sappy now.

 

[Scheme]

I try not to infer too much. I know the best thing for the team would have been for him to shut the **** up. He didn't. Instead he came out and said "I just want to do what is best for the team" which wasn't good for the team at all. Maybe he said it to try and force managements hand into trading him, maybe he didn't, but he said it.

OK, so what was wrong with what he said? And no maybes, unless we can read his mind.

Because it seems like the only issue here is he said he wanted to do what was best for the team, which doesn't sound like terrible to me.

Not his play, not the actual game, but this sound clip that we don't even know the full context to.

"We talkin' about practice here?"

 

[Lundface*]

What was the "best for the team" was to keep Schneider and trade Luongo. This wasn't his decision to make and we don't know when that decision was made, when it was communicated to him, how it was communicated to him and what was said behind closed doors to Luongo. We always criticize a player on what he may have said behind closed doors but we don't focus on what might have been said to him. Shades of Bure.

Plus the whole cluster**** with "oh we're shipping you out", but then leaving him hanging in limbo.

He publicly asked for a trade right after being eliminated by LA.

He had a one team list, that didn't want him. He made the organizations decision for them. He forced there hand, had no trade value due to money and his diminishing play. He shot himself and Vancouver in the foot. The guy made it hard on himself.

This mistreated and left in limbo by the organization business needs to stop.

 

[denkiteki]

Deserves a hero's welcome. Best goalie of all time for us and handled a poor situation with class. I doubt there would be many goalies with Luongo's resume who would have handled the situation nearly as well as he did. Didn't let his ego get in the way of the team and played great despite being more or less an "outcast" for the last 2 years he was here.

Probably the only game this season where i don't mind if we get shutout and if we don't score going into the 3rd, i might be cheering against us...

 

[Taelin]

Deserves a hero's welcome. Best goalie of all time for us and handled a poor situation with class. I doubt there would be many goalies with Luongo's resume who would have handled the situation nearly as well as he did. Didn't let his ego get in the way of the team and played great despite being more or less an "outcast" for the last 2 years he was here.

Probably the only game this season where i don't mind if we get shutout and if we don't score going into the 3rd, i might be cheering against us...

Never. I hate losing.

 

[polarbearcub]

Il be there and I will give lu a standing ovation.

 

[Edo]

He publicly asked for a trade right after being eliminated by LA.

He had a one team list, that didn't want him. He made the organizations decision for them. He forced there hand, had no trade value due to money and his diminishing play. He shot himself and Vancouver in the foot. The guy made it hard on himself.

This mistreated and left in limbo by the organization business needs to stop.

How Vancouver handled the goaltending situation in that Los Angeles series was a joke. Pathetic. Vancouver may walk away with that series if they stick with Luongo and not a cold Schneider. Just ridiculous.

 

[opendoor]

How Vancouver handled the goaltending situation in that Los Angeles series was a joke. Pathetic. Vancouver may walk away with that series if they stick with Luongo and not a cold Schneider. Just ridiculous.

Schneider had a .961 sv% that series.

 

[Shink]

Can you explain what a winners mentality is to us without any references to another athlete or person please?

Trevor Linden! Gino Odjick! Kirk Mclean!

These players had a winners mentality, as ANYBODY who's still living in the bask of '94 will tell you.

Waitaminit...

Also Scurr, you've been one of the saltiest proponents of Luongo's demise in Vancouver since well before he requested to be traded. He's never been given anywhere near a fair shot here in your eyes since you and a handful of others decided he was solely to blame for the loss in 2011.

 

[Edo]

Schneider had a .961 sv% that series.

Goaltending was not an issue in those first 2 games and to abandon your starter like that after being a year removed from 2 Stanley Cup Final shutouts is a joke.

It was handled poorly. That decision goes against all logic. Crazy that a team would toss aside a guy like that.

 

[wreckless]

This fan base should get on their knees for years of ignorance towards luongo

 

[bbud]

Great regular season goalie whiffed the Anaheim series and game 6 in Boston let in 2 goals most tier 2 junior goalies never would cost a cup appreciate his work but those 2 goals were what would have made all the difference Roy made those saves Brodeur made those saves Luongo watched his chance sail by all said and done better than most seasons being a Canuck fan could have been the best ever though.

 

[Scurr]

Goaltending was not an issue in those first 2 games and to abandon your starter like that after being a year removed from 2 Stanley Cup Final shutouts is a joke.

It was handled poorly. That decision goes against all logic. Crazy that a team would toss aside a guy like that.

Schneider outplayed him statistically for two seasons before that happened. It wasn't as big a deal as Luongo made it out to be. The team was desperate to turn things around. He didn't have to cry about it and ask to be traded. But he did.

 

[Edo]

Schneider outplayed him statistically for two seasons before that happened. It wasn't as big a deal as Luongo made it out to be. The team was desperate to turn things around. He didn't have to cry about it and ask to be traded. But he did.

You kind of do. Unless you have no spine, you are going to make a big deal out of it. It's similar to the St.Louis and Yzerman thing. Luongo spent 6+ years in Vancouver, committed his future to the team, just came off a finals performance where the team in front of him shat the bed, and his team give up on him 2 games into the first round of a post season.

This mess was orchestrated by the organization, and not Luongo.

 

[Scheme]

He publicly asked for a trade right after being eliminated by LA.

Context. It's important. Luongo didn't "ask for a trade". He was asked by reporters after the LA series if he would waive his no-trade clause if management asked him to. Again, why aren't we talking about what management decided to do and say to him?

He had a one team list, that didn't want him. He made the organizations decision for them. He forced there hand, had no trade value due to money and his diminishing play. He shot himself and Vancouver in the foot. The guy made it hard on himself.

Proof? And you can't absolve Gillis because he had plenty of opportunities to trade him.

This mistreated and left in limbo by the organization business needs to stop.

We don't know what was said behind closed doors, but we do know he was on the bench for the Winter Classic.

 

[Scurr]

You kind of do. Unless you have no spine, you are going to make a big deal out of it. It's similar to the St.Louis and Yzerman thing. Luongo spent 6+ years in Vancouver, committed his future to the team, just came off a finals performance where the team in front of him shat the bed, and his team give up on him 2 games into the first round of a post season.

This mess was orchestrated by the organization, and not Luongo.

No you don't. In the face of adversity you get to decide what kind of person you want to be. Luongo made his choice... I don't like the kind of person he chose to be.

 

[Edo]

No you don't. In the face of adversity you get to decide what kind of person you want to be. Luongo made his choice... I don't like the kind of person he chose to be.

An elite-level competitive professional athlete will do what Luongo did 100 times out of 100. Not sure how you can blame him either.

He did what any person would do. It's human nature.

 

[Scheme]

No you don't. In the face of adversity you get to decide what kind of person you want to be. Luongo made his choice... I don't like the kind of person he chose to be.

Disagree. In the face of adversity, management showed who they really were, going with a cold goalie over a goalie who got them to a game of the Cup the year before, who had almost single-handedly made the team a contender again during the lean years.

A former Captain.

Many would not have the stones to gut it out for years after that type of disloyalty shown to them.

 

[serge2k]

You guys are going to roll out the red carpet for a guy that asked to be traded? Have some pride.

There was a lot more to it than that. Not a whiny lose like Kesler.

 

[canuck4life16]

It would be a emotional game for Luongo but I expect the team to treat Luongo as another opponent just like with Schneider and all past Canucks players

 

[David71]

lui was good. for the 8yrs hes been with the canucks. the playoffs... not so much. there were some good moments and some bad.