So Cory Schneider resigned with the Vancouver Canucks today. What does that mean for Bob? Of course by Bob, we are talking about Roberto Luongo.
Bob’s therapy….or is that Luongo’s?
Now let’s face it. Roberto Luongo will be the starter for the foreseeable future but if a couple more early exits happen, how long will Vancouver fans clamor for the kid? In 60 starts for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, all Schneider did was win 35 times with a .919 save percentage and four shutouts to go along with his brief cameo in Vancouver. At 24, Schneider appears ready to make the next step in the progress toward being a #1 in the NHL.
One thing that I have noticed so far is that the kid does not get rattled quite as easily around the crease as Roberto Luongo can at times. Maybe part of that is the level of competition but if the young netminder has the disposition of say a Tuukka Rask, then he may just be good to go. I really like the way this kid plays. There is just something about him that screams “future star goaltender”. There is also part of me that still thinks that Vancouver is ultimately not going to give him the chance he will need.
Let’s dig back into Roberto Luongo’s archive a bit so to speak. His playoff flameouts are legendary and well for some reason he gets bullied easily by the Chicago Blackhawks. Some will say the defensive corps was definitely suffering this year but clearly Luongo was rattled and badly. These are some very disconcerting things for a team to deal with, especially when the netminder is getting paid beaucoup bucks for a long time. The window is not that wide open for Vancouver and their chances of winning a Stanley Cup. The reality is probably three or four years at the most. In that time, Cory Schneider is going to see an increased role so that Luongo is well rested come playoff time.
The problem is rest or no rest is not as much of an issue as people should make it out to be. This is now becoming a different era in the NHL where you do not have to necessarily be the ELITE goalie to win Stanley Cups, you just have to be well timely. Take a look at the two goaltenders in this year’s Stanley Cup Final. Michael Leighton was a journeyman netminder on waivers at one point and Antti Niemi was a backup to Cristobal Huet in Chicago. These are not exactly goalies making 5-6 million a year and amongst the top 10 in any NHl category before this year. Even last season, Chris Osgood and Marc-Andre Fleury were not exactly elite goalies but just very good when it counted most. Hell Chris Osgood frankly made a career out of it. Pretty heady stuff but honestly quite truthful in its assessment.
I am secretly or maybe not so secretly intrigued by Schneider’s overall potential. You almost figure that he will likely see 15-20 starts this season as Luongo’s understudy and with Vancouver’s ability to score and play defense (especially in the regular season), Schneider can easily rack up some wins and solid performances. The more he does that and the more he impresses Canucks’ brass is going to set up a heads up showdown between Luongo and Schneider a few years down the road. Inevitably, these two will not be starter and backup for more than a few seasons. Eventually Cory Schneider will either be your starter of the Vancouver Canucks or be starting for another team in 3-4 years time. This is just the cold reality of how it is.
Roberto Luongo is now at a bit of a crossroads. He is going to have to take a reduced role for the greater good of the team. The questions becomes is he willing to for one and for two, will this really help him and the Canucks come playoff time? There are no easy answers to either one of these questions. What I do know is Mike Nonis at least for now, has dodged this bullet once but surely it will come around the chamber at some point in the future. No one knows what will happen when it does again. Then maybe we really will be able to ask “What About Bob?”.
