Comments on: Luongo becomes Canucks all-time winningest goaltender

By: hsnepts

hsnepts — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:03:48 +0000

For the short memories out there: the Vancouver team in fron of Lou hasn’t always been stacked. During Lou’s first season in Vancouver, the pundits had us pegged to finish near the bottom of the West. We had no offense. Instead we topped the division and made the second round of the playoffs, despite not being able to score. We were forever being called a 1-man team (Luongo). Next year we missed the playoffs, mainly because our entire defense was on the IR. The Sedins emerged that year as point-per-game players, but we were still called a 1-man team. It was only during Lou’s 3rd season with the team, when the Sedin’s started putting up all-star numbers, and Kes and Burr outgrew their 3rd line checker roles, that the team in front of Lou has actually been stacked.

Hey, whether or not you think Lou has what it takes to win a cup, that’s another debate. But his all-time stats are worthy of respect.

His 327 wins is 19th among all-time goalies. He will finish his carrer in the top 10. Did Cujo ever win a cup? I can’t remember. All the other G’s in the top 10 al-time wins have cups I think…

his career .919 save percentage is 5th among all-time goalies (min 100 games played) – at least since the early 80′s when they started recording this stat.

And it should be remembered that Lou has built these stats with mostly mediocre teams. He’s only had a contending team in front of him for 3 of is 12 seasons.

Its been argued that Loungo is a great ‘bad-team’ goalie – that the more shots he faces the better he plays. The stats would back that up.

By: blomfeld

blomfeld — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:44:51 +0000

“It’s only appropriate that we pump his tires today” …

Perhaps, but it won’t take much for those tires to be slashed … trust me. I live in the heart of Canuckle Land here and I can tell you “firsthand” that there’s never been a more divisive or polarizing player than Luongo. Yes he’s a good goaltender and yes he’s amassed some impressive stats. But given the caliber of the team playing in front of him, that’s hardly a surprise. On the contrary, it could be argued that probably “half” of the league’s starting netminders would have amassed similar totals, were they to have donned a Canucks jersey during this period. What remains to be seen is whether or not Luongo can backstop his team the “full distance” when it counts ? … something which he’s so far proven himself to be completely incapable of. The “window of opportunity” for the Canucks may stay open here for another 1-2 years at the most. Therefore Luongo had better be ready to finally “deliver the goods” this spring, otherwise he and his fat contract could be sent packing as soon as this summer.

By: tommytd

tommytd — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:32:15 +0000

That’s great…good for him…as long as he doesn’t face the Blackhawks he’s
good-to-go…I think! LOL.

By: elvispocomo

elvispocomo — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:42:55 +0000

It’s hard to swallow some of the bad performances (and the others where the team let him down and he couldn’t make exceptional saves to bail them out), but his stats have shown his true calibre. This year, he’s worked past the mental aspect, shown humility and retained his willingness to win.