saneopinion

"Keep the opinions sane and well thought out."

Canada, AB • Canada •

Luongo. Spezza. Defence and the HEAT

Luongo. There are guys in the NHL who play for the money and those that play to win. I have to wonder where Luongo falls with these guys. He was the captain of the team, that means he must have that drive right? Yet after signing a long term contract he had a noticeable slump in his play, I know Vancouver fans are going to jump on this but if you're happy with his performance so far then I would think you need to take a harder look.

His save percentage went up after signing his contract in 2009 from .920 down to .913, his Goals against Average rose from 2.34 to 2.57 and he recorded half the shut outs he had the year prior. Granted it's a team game and a goalie is often the goat for a team not playing well, but isn't that what the huge contract was for? To carry the team? We are just a few games into the new season so there is lots of time to right the ship but right now his Save percentage is a very AHL .903 and a whopping goals against of almost 2.92.

For Canuck fans this has to be the main concern right now, getting some important injuries back is also going to help, Hamuis and Ballard are important to Luongo's play. The Sedin's can get a couple points each on most nights but unless Luongo is playing like he can, and he can be one of the best if not THE best, then the Canucks are in for a long season.

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I witnessed Jay Bouwmeester body check an opposing player on Tuesday. He hit him hard into the boards. I think I shed a small tear. If this guy could access his mean side, increase his compete level and get angry about being very mediocre then we could have a player here! Over the last two games Sarich has been the most noticeable defenseman but Regehr has played well and Giordano is finding his rhythm. If Bouwmeester and White can get in a grove finally then we can look forward to a few more goals from the back end.

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Negrin is in for surgery again. He is out at least a couple month and at this point you probably have to think his chances of making the NHL are becoming very very slim. It's not that he doesn't possess the talent but there is a risk factor when a guy gets the tag of being a glass player. Maybe it's unfair and maybe it's not right but at this point there is two or maybe three guys who get the call up before he does even when healthy. Brodie has taken the spot of first call up offensive defenseman followed by Pelech for a rugged stay at home type. Seabrook is probably in that mix somewhere to however he had a rough start to the season.


Speaking of the Heat, Irving got his first shut out of the season and has taken the starting role in Abbotsford, his goals against and save percentage are still very mediocre, but as I wrote before about Luongo, this is a long season. In case you're interested Carter Bancks is leading the team in scoring with 6 pts in 6 games and Matt Keith is leading in Goals with 4. Seabrook is the highest scoring D with 4 points and a plus 4 rating, Greg Nemisz has a couple goals and Wahl has a few points as well.

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Jason Spezza has been rumored to go everywhere. Here's something to consider though. If you are the owner and you pay Heatley a huge bonus because you have to contractually and he gets traded away do you want to trade Spezza after he received the Same bonus this summer?? I don't. To get Spezza would take an arm and a leg I think and usually that's more than most want to pay. It's debatable if Spezza has lost a step or his team mates are worse or what his issue is but his potential upside can't be worth the future of your club. If you think it is then look no further than Calgary's roster, they traded a first for the potential 90 point player Jokinen and got a 50 point Jokinen. That's the risk.

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