Luongo needs to get his head checked

Luongo’s play this season has been far from what it was in his first year with the team, and while his numbers still remain amongst the league’s best, some of his other numbers stand out. Last year he was pulled in just two games, this year he’s been pulled seven times and four times in the last 13 games. JJ wrote a post the other day about Luongo saying “All that matters is winning games” and I don’t buy it.

When Luongo says what he said after getting pulled against New York, it worries me a little bit:

On Wednesday, Luongo blamed it [getting pulled, and the loss] on what he said is a more offensive style of play being employed by the Canucks this season.

“We are playing a different brand of hockey this year and it’s been more offensive,” said Luongo, who only got the hook twice last season. “We are not as conservative as we used to be.”

Vigneault took issue with that and said it is his team’s propensity for surrendering early leads to its opponents that is the real culprit.

“I think maybe what has happened, especially during this (recent) road trip, when you give up early goals you have to press, you have to try and make the ground up,” he said.

We didn’t sign this guy for 12 years and agree to front load his contract so he gets 10 million dollars in the first year of that deal to be an excuse maker. It’s one thing to call your team out as the leader, it’s a completely different thing to throw them under the bus like this. That’s not classy, it’s embarrassing, and Luongo needs to start speaking with his actions. A goalie of his calibre shouldn’t be pulled four times in a season let alone four times in the last 13 games.

As the team’s captain, he has a responsibility to lead. No leader should at any point place the blame on anyone but himself, if he’s placing blame. Would Linden have ever blamed anyone but himself for the short comings of the team? No. I don’t like the attitude Luongo’s taken as of late. He’s had a lot of L’s turn to W’s because of the Canucks, or in a couple of instances because Raycroft has been more solid than he has been, in relief. Luongo’s getting the wins, and the Canucks comeback play diverts attention from his poor play and he’s getting off scot free.

Winning, losing, being pulled and statistics aside though, I have an issue with what he said because of what it implies. You can’t win them all and you’re bound to lose a few. I take issue with the fact that he’s throwing his team under the bus, and then saying “All that matters is winning”. Thats’ not cool, that’s not what your captain should do at any point. That’s not even acceptable for anyone else on the team to do no matter how true it may be.