Typical Canuck Fans & Media

What the douche!? Vancouver Canuck fans and media never cease to amaze me. It didn't even take 24 hours after their loss to Chicago (7-5) in game six, for fans to jump of the bandwagon and for Vancouver media to wash their hands clean of the hype. What happened next? The "blame game", finger pointing and excuses started. Of course, getting the brunt of the criticism was non other than...The Captain...The Franchise...Mr. Roberto Luongo.

Yes, Luongo let in 7 goals....7! That's unheard of for a player of his caliber and it's only happened once before to him in Florida. Perhaps some of those fans should watch the highlights of game 6 again because out of the 7 goals scored on Luongo, about 5 of those goals involved a high level of skill and presistance. Those same fans and media are usually the ones who only see the goal, rather than seeing the play that leads up to the goal. Watch Patrick Kane's 1st goal and 3rd goal again and tell me the names of the two defensemen who were left in the dust just before he scored.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2AblOU2bv0

Based off of past net minding experiences, Canuck fans have now become accustomed to Luongo playing exceptionally well every game. Now, when Luo has a mediocre or a rare bad game, it leaves a bitter taste in their mouth because they realize that Luongo is in fact human. If you're relying on your goaltender to play exceptional every night to win, then your team is obviously covering up some holes elsewhere.

I hear all this talk about Luongo and how he has an ego, how he makes too much money in the salary cap era and how he can't win the "big ones". Bulls***. Here's a guy who stole a series away from Dallas in the 06/07 playoffs when the team had overachieved and won a division title, based off Luongo's performance. This season he brought the Canucks back from the depths to erase a 13 point Calgary lead in the standing and win another division title. I loved witnessing the Canucks lose and it was very very satisfying...but seeing Luo in the post game show was pretty tough. The guys voice was cracking while he was trying to restrain himself from the tears of failure. Sure Canuck fans, go right ahead...chase away Luongo. If he isn't good enough to fill the 6 by 4 in GM Place....I can think of a few teams who'd love to have him leading the charge between their pipes.

Canuck fans, do you remember what your goaltending situation was before the Luongo era? Do you? Cause it involved Dan Cloutier. You remember him? Nik Lidstrom sure does.

You typical Canuck fans and media have always...ALWAYS!...had an excuse for losing and it didn't change this time around either. You can never just be beaten by a better team, because every year it's your year to win the cup, right? You're always a contender. That's your problem you knuckleheads! Every year you think you belong up in the elite with Detroit. You build up this "hype" about the team in your own world of expectations that are 1) unreasonable, and 2) built up from a false sense of confidence in a team that has not yet matured or blossomed.

There was no way that Chicago could have beat Vancouver because they were the better team. There was no way that Chicago's depth at the forward position had anything to do with the outcome. There was no way that Chicago's overall speed and Vancouver's inability to keep up with the pace of Chicago's forwards and defense had anything to do with it. There was no way that Vancouver's lack of composure and parades to the penalty box contributed to the loss.
There was no way that Chicago's defense group could have outplayed Vancouver's top 6 defense, offensively and defensively. And I'm sure the loss had nothing to do with Willie Mitchell calling out Patrick Kane, saying he can't score 5 on 5.

None of those reason could have been a factor...because it was Luongo's fault that Ohlund couldn't stop or hold up Kane for his first goal in game 6. It's Loungo's fault that O'Brien didn't know how to play Kane when he scored his hat-trick goal in game 6. It's Luongo's fault that the Canucks were out worked, out played and out skated for big chunks of the series. It's Luongo's fault for some of the defensemen and forwards who couldn't keep up with the Chicago players that lead to penalties. It's Luongo's fault that he himself didn't take care of Dustin Byfuglien's antics. It's Luongo's fault that the Canucks were beaten by a younger, faster, stronger, more skilled, mobile, determined hockey team.

Rather than being proud of what your team accomplished, you look at where they fell short and look for an excuse as to why it happened, to satisfy your own cravings for peace of mind. Outside of your own world Canuck fans and media, there were magazines and sports analyists who predicted the Canucks would miss the playoffs or barley make it. Well, you made the playoffs and won another division title. You beat the St.Louis Blues 4-0 in the opening playoff series and it was your first SWEEP in team history. You battled won of the BEST young up and coming teams in the NHL and played in one of the most entertaining game 6's in playoff history.

The great thing about playing against a team thats better than yours is you see how you measure up and it points out the holes you have and areas of improvement. Goaltending isn't one of them. Overall speed, mobility and depth are an issue. Deal with it. Putting the blame on Luongo is an easy way to make him the scape-goat. It's unfair and uncalled for the way Luongo has been attacked by the media and fans.

A quick little note about the Sedins as well. I'm not a fan at all. Not. One. Bit. But for the Canuck fans who want to see them move on...are you sure? Daniel and Henrik both got 82 poins each this season. That's 164 points off your roster. So, you need to add to your current offense that you already have, but you want to get rid of the twins, which would leave Gillis to find replacements to fill their void of 164 points, plus add more offense on top of that.
Good plan <---Sarcasm.

You have to think about the effect it would have on the team, most notably a player like, Burrows - 28g - 23a -51pts. He just signed a new contract during the season for 2 million a season. If he doesn't put up similar numbers as this year or better...guess whose gonna be Vancouvers new whipping boy?