Dan Murphy

Excellent post Dan! Some people from Toronto just keep telling themselves it only Luongo to keep from facing the reality that their team is a non contender once again! I say this because Toronto is where a lot of hockey writers and journalist reside from and have obvious biases.

Don't take this personally but all of these exact same arguements about the Canucks were used against the Flames in 2004.

Did you make this response about the Flames that year?

Christmas must be here because Dan Murphy has decided to post about the Canucks. I have to agree though, pretty much every reporter outside of BC has no clue what's been going on here. The Canucks have been one of the best in the West for a while now and Luongo is only a piece (although a huge piece) of that puzzle. People often forget that our defensive core is the envy of nearly every team in the league. Our forwards have seemed to have found their roles and have been playing them admirably. When your team can confidently roll four lines things are usually going pretty good. AV won the coach of the year award last year for good reason, he's made this team much more than what they are on paper. Sadly I expect most reporters that get paid to report on our team to not know squat about our club and in true hack fashion boil it all down to Luongo. Thanks for the post Murph, I can't wait for your next one same time next year.

Too true, Murph. And the inspired play of Kesler and Edler has played a big part. As has the steady excellence of Ohlund. And Burrows is also having a great year. I think we saw in the game against Philidelphia that even a great goalie, even the very best goalie, has no hope of winning if his team can't play D and cover the backdoor. The big turn around in the team hasn't been Luongo playing better. He's been playing fantastic all season. The turn around is in the team commitment to defensive coverage.

wait, wait wait...

hasn't Luongo been scoring their goals also? ;)

good blog post. The team system (nearly opposite of the pre-Luongo days) has developed since last year and now we are more and more seeing the payoff.

atta boy murph! way to stick up for the guys. totally agree with you.

The Canucks are buying into Vigneault's system (which involves defensemen and forwards coming back and clearing rebounds after Luongo stops the initial shot) and that is giving them success.

Funny how Canuck fans everywhere had to keep reminding the Flames how they were a one-man team with Kiprusoff in 2004 or even 05-06, and now you cry foul when we do the same thing.

Truth is, the Canucks have no go-to superstars up front. The two sisters are decent top-line players good for 80 points but they can disappear for long stretches and aren't take-charge, clutch type of players that every Cup contender has.

The defense has no superstars either but relies on a solid group from top to bottom to get the job done.

The Canucks without Luongo are not a playoff team. Notice when he's struggled, the team has lost.

They wouldn't be 0-29 without Luongo. But they'd be less than .500 thats for sure.

You have an all-world goaltednder, enjoy him while you have him instead of downplaying his impact to your team. Yes, the Canucks are essentially a one-man team. But what's wrong with that when your one man is someone of Luongo's calibre?

Haha. I can't help but laugh at this type of media coverage if it bothers Canuck fans...you know, the ones who would "never cheer for a team that relied on their goaltender like the Flames did/(hopefully start doing again) on Kipper".

If I could turn back time I'd clip out all of the Vancouver media clippings of "if it wasn't for Kiprusoff" just to send them out to the Canuck nation at times like this.

As for your last paragraph Murphy, shouldn't the "best goalie on the planet" have won the award as the best goalie in the NHL?

I think one of the other great atributes that Luongo brings to the team is that his greatness takes some of the spotlight off the other players somewhat, giving them a little extra bounce with that much more weight off their shoulders. It is very close to what Crosby does for his team mates; lucky for both teams that both the players have the right personality to take the attention and still perform brilliantly. Luongo is as important to the Canucks as Kipper to Flames or Brodeur to the Devils; he always makes a team better when he's playing, but he is not the 'end all' that some media interests like to hint at.

haha, I was wondering how long it would be before someone bagged on the Leafs in a post..and, low and behold, it's the first post! get the chip off your shoulder Wackadoo. Fact of the matter is, the Canucks go as Luongo go. If Luongo wasn't so unstoppable, the entire team play of Vancouver would change. If, IF you had an average goalie (yes, I'll say it, if you had an Andrew Raycroft in net) your team wouldn't be able to take as many chances offensively. I'm not knocking the system and I'm not knocking the fact that Luongo carries your team (Curtis Joseph carried the Leafs for a few years and I had no problem with that!) but to automatically start blaming Toronto (AGAIN!) is just getting pathetic. I can pretty much guarantee that writers are saying the same thing in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal. It's a known fact, if Luongo plays crap, so do the Canucks. He started slowly and so did the rest of the team. Coincidence? I think not. And before you go running your mouth about my Toronto biased (as I'm sure you will), I live in Vancouver and have for 13 years. I've seen first hand how the Canucks can offer not much else other than a mostly stifling defensive game (playoffs last year anyone?). A good team wouldn't get outshot 70-25 in a triple overtime ELIMINATION game...and I'll save you from pointing it out, I know that the Leafs didn't make the playoffs. Luongo is a great goalie and, yea, I'm envious of you for having him...doesn't mean that your team is as 'amazingly deep' as alot of 'Nucks fans yap on about.

This is a great post, and its totally true, in my opinion. I really believe they are a good team. And, i stress the word 'team', not a good goaltender. And, i could give many examples of players who contribute alot to the team other than loungo. Naslund has been an excellent captain, especially this year. He is committed to defense, and he's scoring goals and getting points. Kesler is shutting down other teams and scoring goals. I would like to point out that Crosby didn't get on the score sheet against the Canucks and the main person checking him did. But all this is immiterial, cause we're going to get the real proof in the next coming games.

Loungo was out against the kings, and who knows when his naggin rib injury will be better. In my opinion, i'd say give the guy a rest and call up Cory. Yes, even game counts, but some games count for more, those ones down the stretch and the playoffs. No point in riding loungo into the ground and coming up short in the playoffs. Especially, when i think it would be good for the team to show that they can win without him. Granted they lost last night, but that was a tired team, and they didn't play well. Loungo might have made a difference, but i think they still would have lost.

So, to all you flames fans out there, who have no clue about hockey, keep an eye on the Canucks this week, while loungo rests (or he should anyway) and you'll see that great goaltending is important for this team to win, but it isn't the only thing this team is about.

Goaltending is the only thing this team is about. Goalies are the last line of defense and the canucks play a defense first system, if they played a more open style of game they would be a 500 team at best. Luongo is one of the top 3 goalies on the planet but he would fall out of that place if the Canucks played different. Bottomline aside from his highlight real saves this is boring team to watch

Let's wait and see how the Nucks do without BobbyLou for a week or two. That would tell the story, no?

Realistic: The Canucks don't take chances offensively. You write yourself that it's a defensive system. They don't gamble. The team is shaped around their goalie being better than the other guy and if they are patient, they'll win.

As for Xfactor: it's a great team to watch. The Sedins are amazing players, the checking line is physical and gritty and they win a lot of games. What more could you want?

Without Luongo the Canucks would be battling for last in the West imo..

He is their team... unless he starts to score on the opposing team the Canucks will not go far in the playoffs with their anemic offence...

Unfortunatley for the Canucks, their last 2 games are all the argument you need against this line of thought.

Last Saturday they played the Pens, who were on the last leg of 3 games in 4 nights in a media circus of a road trip. Vancouver's shut-down style against a worn out Pens squad should have meant a win for the Canucks...but Luongo played hurt, and they lost.

Enter Monday night - playing the worst team in the western conference - Luongo sits out, and Canucks lose.

Granted it's only 2 games, but does anybody else see the trend?

Now, agreed, it's not like my beer league team could go out there with Luongo in net and lead the North West - the Canucks are doing a lot of things right and have everybody on the same page.

However, the clear fact is, if Luongo goes down for the rest of the season, there is no way in anyone's dilluded dreams the Canucks would make the playoffs. Period. (hypothetically - obviouslyl bruised ribs are not going to keep him out very long)

The reason for this isn't because they're a one man team, it's because their entire system is built around that 1 man (as it should be). Canucks give up over 28 shots per game, and only take 25. Without exceptional goaltending, that represents a losing formula. And changing your system mid-season doesn't usually result in a cup run.

That's funny that you bring up Florida Dan.....Last year they were closer to making the playoffs than they ever were with Loungo ni net....But I am sure that you knew that.

Start of the season Loungo struggles and so do the Canucks, Last 15 games Loungo is on fire and so are the Canucks...Coincidence..?

Everyone knows that a goalie can't win a game "all on his own," as a team needs to score goals in order to win. That said, there is no question that with any other goaltender (perhaps with exception of one or two others in the league) the Canucks would be at or below .500. As a Leafs fan, I had the benefit of watching two goaltenders--Cujo and The Eagle--go out and steal games night in night out for almost a decade. No one was claiming that we were winning games because Mats was scoring 80 points a season, or that Jonas Hoguland was scoring 30 goals. Canuck fans, just accept the fact that this is the guy who wins you games...there's no shame in it. If you're winning games you shouldn't because of a good goaltender than good for you...after all, the goalie is part of the team. And who knows? Maybe you can ride Luongo to the cup...you never know.

I would like to be the first, after watching the Ducks vs the Nucks game to say......I told you so.

Jason Jaffery is awesome, Raymond is great and yet again this team proves that they can win even without key peoples in the line up.

And, now all you leaf and flames fans i challenge you to watch the following game against the Sharks and witness again, a team that can win without loungo.

Of course, i wouldn't want this to go on too long, but it is nice to show that there is more to this team than a goaltender....

(oh good god i hope he's back for tue against the devils....oh get that camera off me!........)

Canucks are a decent team without Luongo. They need him to be a great team. Enough said?

Same with the Flames and Kipper when he was on fire. That's all most Canucks fans were saying right? But everyone not from Vancouver always wants to say the Canucks suck without Luongo. Before him did we suck?

Hey Arloiginla, wake up. Who scored the goal in the third overtime last year? The Sedins have been the meaning of the word clutch this year. Sure maybe the Modo line of Sedins with Naslund won't break any offensive records but I'd take that line over any other in the NHL because they are clutch. The sedins can kill 3 min off the clock by keeping the puck in the corners and cycling, then score a tying, winning, or devastating moral killing goal. This is what clutch is. Stop living in the past, who cares about the '04 Flames. They lost, end of discussion.