Canucks & Beyond
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Luongo’s Injury Time Off Guessing Game
by Alanah McGinley on 11/25/08 at 04:30 PM ET
Comments (13)
Last night was a great win for Canucks fans. Perhaps not I-Just-Won-the-Stanley-Cup-and-I’m-Going-To-Disneyland! great, but under the circumstances, pretty sweet.
For one thing, its nice to slow down the Wings-fan trash talk around this website for 5 minutes (*immediate snarky little emails from The Sailor notwithstanding). And for another—and on a more serious note—it calms the reactiveness of both the hockey press and fans who assume Vancouver is weaker than a newborn kitten without Roberto Luongo in the net. (Of course they’re better off with their captain, but as last night proved they’re also a pretty scrappy kitten without him.)
Still, when the Canucks revealed yesterday that Luongo is destined to be off work “week-to-week” the truth is that they didn’t reveal anything at all. What does that really mean?
Luongo’s agent Gilles Lupien’s supposed comments to La Presse yesterday implied Canucks fans should expect 4-5 weeks without his client. He later denied he made that suggestion when speaking to other media outlets, but the quote itself (reported again today on Sportsnet) apparently remains unchallenged. He said:
“You never know, it could be less than five weeks, but I do not think it is three weeks.”
So, fine, he’s right… he didn’t say “4-5 weeks”. He’s saying ‘more than 3, less than 5.’ You do the math.
Regardless, Mark Spector at Sportsnet thinks it’s all very suspicious and remarks on the 4-5 week time-frame that “the way the Canucks are handling this so far makes that time frame seem like a best-case scenario.”
He may be right.
I’ve said repeatedly on this website and in various interviews/podcasts/conversations, that the Vancouver Canucks with Mike Gillis in charge can keep a secret better than any NHL team in Canada. Things just don’t ‘leak’ from Vancouver; information is very carefully controlled. Which is quite an accomplishment in a hockey market like this, I must say.
So whatever the Canucks’ expectations are about their captain’s time off, they’re not telling us. To quote Spector again:
“week-to-week?”
That falls somewhere between, “We don’t really know,” and, “We have a pretty good idea how long he’ll be out, but why on earth would we tell you?”
So keep on guessing.
Update 2:20pm PT:
Suggested by Bitterguy in the comments below, why not make a game out of this? Put your own best guess in the comments as to Luongo’s first game back and the closest guess will win a yet-to-be-determined prize.
I’ll think of something. 
Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: injuries, roberto+luongo,
Comments
Ha! Good idea… I should’ve thought of that. So let’s do it:
Everyone who wants to, take your best guess. Closest one to the date of Luongo’s first game back wins a prize… maybe not a great prize, but I’ll think of something by then.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 11/25/08 at 05:17 PM ET
Good for the Orcas.
It seemed the Wings controlled the puck for the whole game & doubled them in shots on goal.
But the Canucks just kept playing great defense, and getting a 4 on 3 was just a ...killer.
What an on-ice celebration! You would have thought it was the Clarence Campbell Cup.
I am sure that all the fans in Vancouver are happy.
Teams sure play their best games against Detroit.
Posted by w2j2 on 11/25/08 at 05:17 PM ET
I’m going to say January 4th against Dallas.
Posted by TriniD on 11/25/08 at 05:27 PM ET
I’ll be optimistic and say he’ll be back for Boxing Day against Edmonton! (Dec.26)
Posted by JT From VicCity on 11/25/08 at 05:47 PM ET
I say he makes it back on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) against Dallas. Hey, you’ve got your optimism and Wings fans have their optimism.
And I’ll be more than happy to lose that fabulous prize (whatever it is) if I’m off by a day or two either way.
Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 11/25/08 at 06:09 PM ET
Wed Jan 7, 2009 (Canucks @ Oilers), where he’ll let in four goals, but they’ll still win the game 6-4.
...and then on Sat Jan 10, 2009 (Sharks @ Canucks) he’ll injure it again and be out until Fri Mar 13, 2009 (Kings @ Canucks). By that time he will have had his share of bad luck, and the Friday-the-13th curse will put both Demitra and Salo back on IR.
Sorry, but this psychological coping mechanism has made it possible for me to remain a Canucks fan for many years with only minor levels of alcoholism. Expect the worse and then really enjoy having your low expectations exceeded.
Posted by Jeremy from Summerland on 11/25/08 at 07:32 PM ET
January 1st, 2009 vs Nashville
Posted by April from Nanaimo on 11/25/08 at 07:46 PM ET
Hmm… I’m gonna say the January 13th game vs. the Devils will mark Luongo’s triumphant return.
Posted by Max Cekota from Victoria on 11/25/08 at 08:09 PM ET
January 10th against San Jose (battle of the Western titans). If he posts a shutout you have to double the gift and personally deliver it
Posted by Yankee Canuck on 11/25/08 at 09:52 PM ET
I say it’s not as long as people think….....Dec 17 against the oil.
Posted by attila from kamloops on 11/26/08 at 11:24 AM ET
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About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003 (with a notable gap in time through 2010, kicking it with new baby Lucy while living knee-deep in chaos while reading “parenting for complete idiots” during every spare minute) sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen.
In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah was one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast. She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
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i clicked this post thinking it was going to be a contest, like with prizes… hint, hint.
put me down for jan 10 when you get that running.
Posted by bitterguy from san francisco, ca on 11/25/08 at 05:14 PM ET