Wednesday, September 26, 2007

 

Luongo To Retire

Calm down, Canucks fans. It's only your goalie whining about potential rule changes. Roberto Luongo says he'll retire if the NHL ever uses bigger nets. I can't say I blame him. He's had such a tough ride with his huge pads, cheater, and ability to roam untouched around the ice like a drunken drifter. I can't imagine how much worse it will be for him if shooters are actually able to see an inch or two of open net.

I'd actually prefer smaller padding to a larger net, but Luongo's stance here is ridiculous. He's perpetuating the Divine Right of Goaltenders myth, carrying on the constant "woe is us" complaints of fellow netminder Martin Brodeur. There's a legitimate argument to be had here about whether nets sizes should be increased, whether it will actually help increase scoring levels, whether it's ruining the traditions of the game, whether this is all being done to please Americans who will never ever care, etc., etc. But ultimatums like this don't move the conversation along. Here's hoping Luongo stops pouting, and a proper dialogue on this issue occurs.

***Instant Update*** It appears that Luongo's argument has to do with "preserving the traditions of the game". There is further exposition in an article by Jim Matheson. I remain unconvinced that this is anything other than a goalie acting out of self-interest, but there it is.

Comments:

If the NHL could ever get things right, in 2004 they would have added an extra inch or two to the nets instead of instructing referees to call a minimum of 20 powerplays a game.

Goalies don't look like Mike Vernon and Darren Pang anymore, and overall team defence in the NHL is better than it was in the 1980s. Something's gotta give.
 


They didn't make baskets 11 feet high when Spudd Webb won the dunk competition, they don't allow composite bats in MLB. What is the purpose of bigger pads and meaner sticks in the NHL. I think Luongo's got a point. Leave the nets alone, bring goalie equipment back down to size and trash those hard as steel/break like toothpicks sticks and let skill and athleticism do the work.
 


"preserving the traditions of the game..."

Can we all get our old non-high-tech jerseys back, then?
 


I think Luongo's got a point.

Sure, if he actually articulated it. Saying you are taking your ball and going home doesn't accomplish anything.
 


Just a point about goalies here:

It's not the equipment that's making these guys better, it's the specialized coaching.

There was a span during the late 90s and early 2000s where the upper body padding got enormous (Garth Snow) but the new regulations on equipment size has brought that down a lot. If players are going to use lighter skates and sticks that allow anyone on the team to rifle the puck it's no wonder that goalies have bulked up.
 


Saying you are taking your ball and going home doesn't accomplish anything.

Agreed, if this is an issue of a whiny goalie. If it's an issue of change, he has a point.

Though I disagree completely that taking your ball and going home doesn't accomplish anything. My brother used to use this tactic quite effectively back in the late eighties when he would often take the ball, and go home, thus leaving the rest of us to contemplate playing without a ball. We usually bent to his demands.
 


"preserving the traditions of the game..."
Like wooden sticks, tube skates, leather gloves, goalie pads that weighed 100 pounds when wet, etc.?
 


Blogs like this,would cease to exist if the nets were enlarged. Would you want to comment on Hemsky scoring a double hat-trick last night, or the tight-checking 9-8 weekend tilt on HNIC? The NHL as we know it is doomed if the nets are enlarged. Gretzkys records will fall in the first year and 50 goals will mean nothing. I am also comtemplatin retirement also from the NHL also then, not as a player though, but as a fan...
 


We're not talking increasing the size by five feet. It's just a couple of inches. Now who doesn't want a couple more inches?
 


And that's what she said!
 


i talk big now just like luongo but i could see myself not watching the nhl anymore if they changed the size of the nets. very bad idea. why dont they just make a slapshot count for 2 points? Make glove/blocker saves illegal?

- doug
 


I don't think they should increase the size of the nets because I think it will encourage the wrong kind of goal scoring. The bigger the nets are, the easier it is to score on a straight on shot. The smaller the nets are, the more you need to pass and deke to force the goalie out of position. I'm interested to hear other people's comments on this, but I much prefer to see the slick passing plays and fancy stick handling we get right now, instead of a non stop barrage of slap shots from the point. Wasn't the whole point of the post-lockout rule changes to open up the game for the skill forwards and playmakers? Why would we change the rules again to favour a less entertaining style of play? (Not to mention the increase in injuries as players attempt more shot blocks!)
 


Ironically enough, it's the Canuck Offense that probably wishes the nets were a few inches bigger.

Don't think you'd hear any argument from the forward lines.
 


Increasing the net size by just the width of the goal posts would increase scoring by 2 or 3 goals a game alone. Every clang off the post you hear now, would be a goal with nets that size. Which would be a lot more scoring. And a lot more shots that would go wide hitting the post and maybe becoming scoring chances.

I'm not against it, but I think it would produce more than just a goal a game. It could mean 4 or 5 goals some nights.
 


Would you want to comment on Hemsky scoring a double hat-trick last night...

Actually, I would.
 


buddy your a fool first of all lets just get this straight that your just angry because Edmonton is a pushover team with a goalie who needs to retire, Luongo is an elite goalie and he will be surpassing another elite goalie in a few years who goes by the name of Martin Brodeur. Everyone knows it and any fan who watches the game whether they like the Canucks or not can easily tell the Roberto Luongo is a top goalie and big pads have nothing to do with his ability to win games. Just because you have big pads doesn't mean your a good goalie. It takes a lot of skill even to move around in those things and thats the reason why he is so good because he has skill. Theres two ways of playing goalie, Being technical and always angling and being square to the shooter and then there's the 'Hasek' style where its mostly based on athleticism. Luongo plays mostly technical and that takes skill to always have the angles perfect but he doesn't play as technical as J.S. Giguere because Luongo does not give up on the puck until he has frozen it. Now i am not just a Canuck fan rambling on about the obvious, It doesn't matter what team you cheer for it would take an idiot to think Luongo tied Bernie Parent's 47 wins in a regular season just because of his size and size of pads. Get over yourself and accept the fact that your next door neighbors have one of the worlds best goalie and stop knocking the Canucks and maybe start focusing on how you can cheer for your team. It just makes it all the better beating you guys when you knock our team. Come back and talk when you have something legit to argue about.
 

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