Did Mike forget that Lou played in Florida?  Sure, they’ve had some good scorers, but don’t you think that Lou would prefer to play behind a solid D with low scoring forwards, than forwards who can score, but D who he’s always bailing out?

Posted by Karina on 08/27/08 at 12:21 PM ET

Luongo has proven himself.
Whatever team is around him, he will be great.

But man, if he had a powerhouse around him, the sky would be the limit.

On the other hand, isn’t it interesting that Detroit has been very competitive the last couple years with lots older, less stellar, and much cheaper goalies Hasek and Osgood?

Posted by w2j2 on 08/27/08 at 12:25 PM ET

Ya seriously, I think he forgot about Florida.  Poor Luongo, everyone expects him to just implode, and he keeps going and going.

Posted by Bethany on 08/27/08 at 12:37 PM ET

The prognosticators tend to simply look at the previous season to make these predictions. Don’t you think we saw at least a minor implosion by Luongo last year? Very tough year for him, and although the lack of scoring certainly didn’t help his cause, he didn’t seem to cope very well, and his agent admitted as much in the off-season. I expect him to be better this year.

Posted by Jeremy from Summerland on 08/27/08 at 12:46 PM ET

If Luongo experiences another season like last year, with last year’s scoring (or worse), then perhaps his implosion will be a little more prominent than last year’s “minor implosion.”

It’s not fighting words, it’s something to critically consider.

Having said that, Luongo and the Canucks should be a better team this year, so what was blogged is really a non-issue, and is just taking up space.

Really, it could be worse. You could have everyone with an opinion saying how the Canucks will be fighting for the lottery pick, much like everyone has been doing to Atlanta, NYI, Toronto, and LA this off-season. So take solace in that, I guess. 

Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 08/27/08 at 01:10 PM ET

The only way the comment makes sense is if Heika’s saying the Canucks don’t have the ability to control the puck… that they’ll hang him out to dry so often he’ll lose his focus.

But honestly, if the guy can survive a few seasons in Miami I don’t think he’s going to suffer a meltdown just because he’s on a low-scoring team.

http://www.bostonblueline.blogspot.com

Posted by bostonblueline.blogspot.com on 08/27/08 at 01:11 PM ET

About this “minor implosion” suggestion…

I’m not sure I’d describe it that way.  Luongo’s only stats which dropped last year were his SV% (down to .917 from .921) and his GAA (up to 2.38 from .2.28 the previous season).  And yes, he struggled some games.

But he also had tiny improvements, such as his number of shutouts and his GA.  Furthermore, he played 73 games during the course of the season. The only other goalies who played more were Nabokov and Brodeur.  And the games he had off work weren’t all just for rest… on one (or two?) occasions he was traveling from one side of the continent to the other to spend time with his pregnant wife.

Given Luongo’s personal situation last year - his wife’s health concerns being notable since she needed constant care during her pregnancy - I’d argue that any slip in his performance had more to do with that personal pressure, than any new concerns about Vancouver’s lack of offense.

That being said, I do agree that his team’s lack of scoring doesn’t exactly help his cause. It’s a lot of pressure to play under throughout a season.  But I just don’t think it’s a major factor in how he himself performs.

Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 08/27/08 at 01:14 PM ET

Ugh, the season of dreadful predictions and pathetic descriptions of teams by writers who don’t know them (on that note - if I see ‘Kessler’ spelled that way again someone is getting kicked in the head) is underway:

- Keenan’s peak season is because of...what?
- San Jose is worse than Anaheim & Dallas because...Campbell/Rivet left?
- The Wild’s powerplay is better because of...Nolan?
- The Coyotes are still awful because...Gretzky as coach isn’t enough?

Ugh! I surrender.

Posted by Mike from NYC on 08/27/08 at 04:02 PM ET

But honestly, if the guy can survive a few seasons in Miami I don’t think he’s going to suffer a meltdown just because he’s on a low-scoring team.

No kidding.  I thought it would be better when their absurdly young and inexperienced defensemen were a few years older - but I glanced at the numbers a couple times last year, and (with admittedly not a great deal of thought) it looks like Vokoun is getting pelted just as badly.  What is with that team?

He’ll be fine, he won’t implode, and I think with the lack of personal worry he’ll play much better.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 08/27/08 at 04:25 PM ET

Meh, predictions, predictions. Hockey analysts are bored this time of year. Mike is probably also suffering from a case of Dallas heat stroke so I forgive his predictions...for now.

Posted by Trini from VanC on 08/27/08 at 05:36 PM ET

No kidding.  I thought it would be better when their absurdly young and inexperienced defensemen were a few years older - but I glanced at the numbers a couple times last year, and (with admittedly not a great deal of thought) it looks like Vokoun is getting pelted just as badly.  What is with that team?

I see them somewhat regularly since I’m in a SE television market, and I feel comfortable saying they’re not as bad as they seem on paper (I may adjust this statement once I see them without Olli Jokinen). They have some really underrated young players—Vokoun, Bouwmeester, B. Allen, Van Ryn, Weiss, Booth, and Horton are a fantastic young core.

I think the problem is just a lack of organizational focus and consistency.  In the past 7 seasons they’ve missed the playoffs, with this string of coaches: Terry Murray -> Duane Sutter -> Mike Keenan -> Rick Dudley -> John Torchetti -> Jacques Martin -> DeBoer.  Martin was the first man to coach 3 full seasons with the team, EVER.  And in the midst of all that, they’ve been doing the coach/GM thing as well. 

So all the young talent they’ve stockpiled has been devevloped in a context of constant coaching and management flux.  With little fan support, and no real direction toward a championship, it’s pretty easy to imagine how the team as a whole can end up stunted and underachieving.

bostonblueline.blogspot.com

Posted by bostonblueline.blogspot.com from Nashville on 08/28/08 at 08:40 AM ET