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Why Not Lundqvist or Brodeur?
by Patrick Hoffman on 09/30/08 at 08:50 PM ET
Comments (6)
As I’m sure all you hockey fans have heard, Vancover Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo was named the team captain today by head coach Alain Vigneault.
“We might be a little outside of the box here (naming Luongo captain), but there’s only two things that, as captain, Roberto can’t do and that’s wear the ‘C’ on his jersey or take faceoffs,’’ Vigneault told reporters this afternoon.
When I first heard about this, I wondered if there were any other goaltenders in the Eastern Conference that were the clear leaders on their team. Two stellar masked men happened to come to mind: New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur and New York Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist.
When one thinks of the New Jersey Devils, the first players that most think/talk about is their goaltender. Brodeur has been a mainstay in the Devils’ crease for the last 13 seasons, breaking all kinds of team/National Hockey League records in the process. He’s a guy that wants to play every single game, will talk to the media for hours on end and ultimately, is someone that loves playing the game.
I do not have a problem with their current captain, Jamie Langenbrunner. He’s been with the club for the past six seasons, he skates hard, plays on the power play, kills penalties and is not afraid to stick up for his teammates. However, it is Brodeur who eats, sleep and breathes Devils hockey and I wouldn’t hesitate to name him team captain.
Across the river, Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is doing everything he can to bleed the Rangers’ red, white and blue. He’s another player that wants to play every single game, one that strives for perfection night in and night out, a player that does everything he can to give his team a chance to win and most importantly, a guy that takes responsibility for his play on the ice.
In the Rangers case, it is pretty obvious that the team’s captaincy is going to come down to Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. Right now, all signs post to Drury, he’s been a leader on the ice wherever he’s played whether it was in the Little League World Series, with Boston University, scoring big goals with the Colorado Avalanche, putting the Buffalo Sabres back on the hockey map and now, he has a chance to captain the Blueshirts and get them back to the Stanley Cup finals.
While selecting Drury or Gomez to be the next Rangers’ captain would certainly be a great choice, I would at least also consider Lundqvist for the role. You build a team from the net out and for the next six seasons, Lundqvist will own the Ranger crease and try to bring them a Stanley Cup, much like Ranger great Mike Richter did back in 1994.
Like Vigneault said, it’s a little outside the box to give the team captaincy to a goaltender but in this day in age, the league is begging for new trends to get their game on the map. May be other teams will follow suit in the future.
Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
Tags: Alain+Vigneault, Chris+Drury, Henrik+Lundqvist, Jamie+Langenbrunner, Martin+Brodeur, Roberto+Luongo, Scott+Gomez,
Comments
Mother Pucker Hockey you are obviously a Leaf fan, or know zzzzzzip about hockey. Luongo is a fantastic choice and I am just surprised Lou in Jersey hadn’t thought of it before with Brodeur.
So get your head out of your azz before you post you moron....
I’m laughing even harder
at you every time I see your moronic post:)
Posted by Dave from Vancouver on 09/30/08 at 08:24 PM ET
It has never been illegal for a goalie to be captain. ITs only been illegal for a goalie to where the C, the reason for that being, becuase of that montreal goalie captain back in the 1940’s who would always skate and dispute calls. Other teams would dispute that they would be gettin a free timeout when he did that. I think they named it after him, the durham rule or some thing of the sorts. There is absolutely nothing wrong with naming luongo the captain, as he is hands down their best player and is an obvious leader in the dressing room and on the ice. He just can’t take faceoffs, or wear the C’
Posted by hugh from vancouver on 09/30/08 at 11:09 PM ET
Goalies should not be team captains...Luongo being named as team captain shows the complete lack of leadership in the Vancouver locker room. Marty Brodeur, the goalie most worthy of such an honor, has probably never even been considered to be named team captain because the New Jersey front office knows better than to pull such a ploy. Having your invisible C in the crease with three alternates is a joke. I think this is just a plublicity stunt from a front office whose $20 million couldn’t convince Sundin to sign, not to mention the fact that they are still under investigation for player tampering (just ask the Minnesota Wild). With a slight of hand, they say “Forget about all of that, look over here...we made our goalie our team captain!” I say, “Oh, please.”
Posted by Animal Drew from A Nightmare on Helm Street on 10/01/08 at 07:06 AM ET
Animal Drew jealousy gets you nowhere 
Posted by Dave from Vancouver on 10/01/08 at 08:14 AM ET
Dave, you should know that this appeasement of Luongo is probably an attempt to try and keep him from taking a pay cut to come to Detroit in 2 years and win a cup...something he won’t be able to do as a Canuck. I find it hard to be jealous of any franchise in the league when your home town team just won their 4th cup in 11 years.
Sorry if that was a little harsh...but I’m fired up this morning.
Posted by Animal Drew from A Nightmare on Helm Street on 10/01/08 at 08:51 AM ET
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The Goal Line Report will focus on all things Eastern Conference. Do I have a bias towards the Eastern Conference just because I am a New Yorker? No, but it certainly does make things easier! I’ll make my opinions known on Eastern Conference news bits (as often as I can), big games, hot and cold players, trades (I don’t make things up) and anything and everything else related to the Eastern Conference that I think is important for hockey fans to know. I will, in every sense of the word, be the beast of the East while also making sure to drop my thoughts on other hockey news items.
I, Patrick Hoffman, have covered the NHL since 2003 and have worked for a variety of hockey media sources including: Stan Fischler, Spector’s Hockey, TheHockeyNews.com, HockeyBuzz.com, McKeen’s Hockey, Blueshirt Bulletin, XM Home Ice Channel Hockey Blog, HockeyPrimeTime.com, FantasyHockey.com. NY SportsDay, and HokejaVestnesis.com.
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I agree that some teams and tenders have the right to be called captain, but they are, and should always be unofficial. I still can’t believe that the Canucks made it official and named Luongo the captain… they obviously realized they were breaking the rules and backtracked by saying that he wouldn’t actually wear it. Whatever, its still stupid, and now I’m laughing even harder at that organization.
Posted by Mother Pucker Hockey on 09/30/08 at 08:11 PM ET