Bingo Bango Bongo
This is the first in a two part series featuring Josh Hall and Kevin Vanstone debating who the Canucks should keep in town for the 2012/2013 NHL Season…between the pipes anyways.
Dear Vancouver Canucks fans,
Why have the Canucks never won a Stanley Cup?
Do you know the answer?
I do.
Want to know?
BECAUSE YOU ALL CAN’T CONTROL YOUR IDIOTIC RAMBLINGS ON WHY EVEN A GREAT PLAYER APPARENTLY SUCKS AND IS THE SOLE REASON FOR EVERY SINGLE LOSS THE TEAM INCURS EACH SEASON!
The Roberto Luongo situation is nothing short of a travesty. I probably wasn’t the only one who thought when Roberto was acquired from Florida that his presence may wash away the notion that Vancouver is a goalie graveyard.
Here’s another little anecdote
I remember the day the Canucks announced the life-time deal that would keep Bobby Lu a Canuck through to age 43. At the time, I spent a lot of time on the Canucks Dot Com message boards.
One of the first new threads to pop up was entitled, “With Luongo signed long-term, Canucks Guaranteed At least one Cup in next 13 years!”
Think about that for a nano-second (it should only take that long to sink in) and we’ll carry on. No promise I will stay calm though.
So with Bobby Lu all but on a flight to Tampa Bay, here are 5 damn good reasons to KEEP Roberto Luongo INSTEAD OF Cory Schneider:
#1 in our programs; maybe not so in all of our hearts: Bobby Lu
Seniority
“Señor, it y’s a team he’s committed his heart to,” said the Mexican hockey analyst.
It was September 2nd, 2009 when Roberto Luongo signed a 12 year life-time deal to play with the Vancouver Canucks. This came after 3 solid seasons in Vancouver where he earned 20 shutouts combined.
The guy just turned 33 years old and has a much more diverse resume than Cory Schneider, including having been Captain of this team.
How would you like it if a guy or gal 7 years younger than you came along and threatened to take your job even when you’re still perfectly capable?
To boot, this younger person is just stepping into the industry with mild early success. Trust me, that’s all it’s been for Schneider. So he’s had two great seasons as a backup goalie.
I’m not saying he’s not exceptional, but think about what great feats the skaters on this team have achieved over the last two seasons. It’s been a pretty easy go for Cory Schneider.
It may be a business, but’s it’s simply not the fair way to do things.
There’s a reason Roberto was given a no trade clause: he was the man Mike Gillis wanted going forward deep into the future.
Gillis has said he’ll never ask a player to waive, but if he does end up asking the Italian Stallion, he’s just as gutless as the next guy. Hence proving that NTC’s are the cancers of contractual agreements.
Bigger Return for and Easier to Trade Schneider
Going back to the age factor and this time it plays even more in Luongo’s favour if in fact he is to stay here. A guy dubbed recently as minimally better, but 7 years younger will get a much better return than a guy who while still young, isn’t getting any younger.
It’s not unimaginable to believe that Roberto Luongo has 4-6 more years of stellar goaltending in him. Martin Brodeur has done it, so why can’t Bobby Lu?
More on the Brodeur factor, who is second best in the career win & shutout columns for active goalies behind only Brodeur? Yeah, Roberto Luongo.
He is the real deal and always has been but the fact remains that Cory Schneider will get a better return in a trade because of his age.
With the Canucks not likely being quite the contender going forward, isn’t getting back as much as possible a requirement?
There is no shame in taking the easy way out. Either way, Mike Gillis is going to have an all-star goalie at the helm next season and the one after that. There’s no question trading away an RFA would be much easier than trading away a guy signed through the next millennium.
Knowing he’ll get more for Cory should make it an even easier decision for Mike Gillis.
Why not send away Cory Schneider to an eastern opponent we’ll hardly ever see and just be done with it? It’s been done with Cody Hodgson.
One thing’s likely, teams across the board won’t have to pay Schneider as much as they would be paying Roberto Luongo right off the bat.
The Boston Jinx
Who is the Vancouver Canucks most hated team? The Boston Bruins. So why would we ever want our long-term heir apparent to be a native of Massachusetts? The young ginger jesus grew up cheering on the Boston B’s and played at Boston College.
The Canucks have already been cursed to not win a Cup for their first 41 years. What makes anyone think having a Boston born and bred goaltender ruling the crease won’t prolong the jinx the Hockey Gods have so blatantly bestowed upon us?
It’s a bad idea because once Cory Schneider hears the term ginger just 10 more times, he will snap and demand a trade. By then, we’ll have already traded Luongo and really…what good have we done to exile both super star goalies?
Out of Context
The Canucks had their locker clean-out day this past Tuesday and players spoke to the media before taking off for the summer.
Schneids; may as well give him the C with all this hoopla. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)
Cory Schneider made one peculiar comment with regards to how the season ended with nothing more than a President’s Trophy:
“It was a step in the right direction.”
What was a step in the right direction Cory? AV and Gillis finally making you the starter? I bet you liked that. I bet it’s what you’ve always wanted was to be the starter here and see Luongo, your brethren in backstopping falter and be fed to the wolves for the umpteenth time.
I thought you were better than that, but now that we’re all aware of your malice towards Roberto, let’s just be done with it and have you head to the east.
We don’t need someone with your train of thought in this locker room.
If you’re still reading this and didn’t find the sarcasm in this last point, good luck in life. Memo: levity is good.
Roberto Luongo is Better
Let’s start with where Roberto was at the age of 26. He’d played in 5 NHL regular seasons including 4 with the Florida Panthers. Over those 5 years, he faced an average of 31 shots per game, more than most, if not all other goalies at the time.
When has Cory Schneider EVER faced that type of adversity at any level including most importantly, the NHL? Never. Stay with me because the beat goes on.
Roberto Luongo is a proven man at his money making occupation. He’s got an Olympic Gold Medal, which despite popular belief in some parts, he did play a major part in securing.
Roberto Luongo has been to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. This is where the idiot “fans” come in who blame HIM for the loss. How is a goalie supposed to win a game when his teammates don’t score a single freakin’ goal?
Oh Roberto Luongo has faced many more pressure packed situations than Cory Schneider and if the Canucks did somehow move on from LA to the 2ndround, there’s no telling when and where Cory would have cracked. Maybe he wouldn’t have but their fate would have been a lot more certain with Roberto in net.
This man has a very tough job this off-season.
Roberto is a man of integrity and not to say that Cory isn’t but when has Robby Luo ever reacted to something in a negative way? He’s handled the fiasco this week with utmost professionalism. Even when Luongo cried after being eliminated by Chicago a couple years back and last year after Game 7, I want that emotion in one of my team’s biggest leaders.
Cory Schneider doesn’t have a track record in that department. Do you go with the unknown or the well known?
His brain isn’t made of china either as the haters like to believe. Besides anything else, he’s lasted in this flippant town for six entire years.
Oh it’s so much easier when the rest of the team is winning isn’t it Canucks fans? But when they lose out in the first round, it’s all the goalie’s (singular) fault for not being able to score.
When will this city learn?
“I’ve loved being here the last six years…you’re a starter, a competitor, and you want to play…I didn’t want to put myself ahead of team.”
You’ve pushed away the man who many thought was the Chosen One for Canucks nation and I’ll be damned if Cory Schneider doesn’t suffer the same fate within the NEXT six years. Good luck Cory, you’re going to need it.
Yours truly,
A Roberto Luongo supporter
Oh and by the way, I STILL PROMISE TO BUY LU LUNCH!
If you haven’t yet check in with why Kevin thinks its ok to go with Schneidz.
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About Josh Hall
