Fan In Van

The Meltdown

It was one of those situations where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The Vancouver Canucks’ failed attempt to run-and-gun with the Chicago Blackhawks proved to be the final nail in the coffin which sealed their playoff fate, effectively eliminating them from Stanley Cup contention. Simply put, the Canucks couldn’t match up to the speed of the youthful Hawks team that suddenly look like they could win it all.

Call it a lack of backcheck from the forwards or a loss of physicality from the defencemen, but the fault of the Canucks’ four goals against in the final period of play has been squarely placed on Roberto Luongo’s shoulders, and perhaps justifiably so.

I couldn’t help but feel some sort of guilt for the way Luongo conducted himself in the final post-game interview of the 2009 season; he appeared dishevelled, broken and emotional, choking on his own words and unable to explain why things ended the way they did. But the cruel reporters and journalists wrote, correctly, mind you, about how Luongo was supposed to be the difference in Game Six.

It was the eleventh hour with the clock approaching midnight on the Canucks’ season, and it was up to Luongo to turn the clocks back and force a deciding seventh game. After all, Luongo was the man who thrived in those situations when he’s in the spotlight, where he’s depended upon to steal a game and make saves that no one else on the planet was capable of. The story of his tenure with the Canucks was based around that principle. But in the end, it was the Canucks and Luongo who were burned.

But now that things have simmered, don’t forget that had it not been for Luongo, the Canucks wouldn’t have won the Northwest Division title on the final game of the season; hell, they might not have even made the playoffs without Bobby Lu. Despite missing a lengthy stretch of the season, Luongo stood on his head to end the season, winning game after game and sprinkling a shutout here and there. And it would be a grave mistake for people of this town to crucify Luongo after a rare (The first time in nine years) moment that he surrendered seven goals in one game.

So Canuck fans, don’t make the mistake of being so quick to run Luongo out of town; the top priority should still be attempting to get him to sign an extension. Despite the meltdown to end the postseason, Luongo is the type of player and leader you want to build your team around. If he wants to stay, he should. Anyone saying otherwise is foolish; to be so quick to throw Luongo into the fire and trade him would result in a meltdown even greater than seven goals.