Roberto Luongo

WEEK TOMORROW HOCKEY CANADA WILL ANNOUNCE ITS 23 MAN ROSTER FOR THE OLYMPICS…
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MIKE BABCOCK…THERE ARE ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT UP FOR GRABS…
ONE ON DEFENCE AND TWO FORWARDS…
AS FOR THE GOALTENDING…BABCOCK INSISTS…THOSE DECISIONS HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE…
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TEAM CANADA STEVE YZERMAN HAS ALL BUT CONFIRMED THAT…
IN HIS WORDS…”THE GOALTENDING IS SOMEWHAT CLEAR TO US…
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH IT MEANS…THE 3 GOALTENDERS ARE:
MARTIN BRODEUR…
ROBERTO LUONGO…
AND MARC-ANDRE FLEURY…
AS MUCH AS HOCKEY FANS IN THIS CITY WOULD LOVE TO SEE LUONGO “START” THE TOURNAMENT…
CLEARLY THE JOB NOW BELONGS TO BRODEUR…
HOW COULD IT NOT???
LASTNIGHT NEW JERSEY SHUTOUT PITTSBURGH 4-0…
IT WAS BRODUER’S 104TH CAREER SHUTOUT…A NEW NHL RECORD…
A RECORD THAT HAD STOOD FOR NEARLY 40 YEARS…
AT 37…MARTIN BRODUER IS STILL ON TOP OF HIS GAME…
NOT ONLY DOES HE LEADS THE NHL IN WINS…WITH 23…
BUT HIS GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE…AND SAVE PERCENTAGE…ARE BOTH BETTER THAN EITHER…LUONGO’S OR FLUERY’S…
ADD TO THAT…HIS TROPHY CASE INCLUDES…
4 VEZINA’S…
3 STANLEY CUPS…
AND 1 OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL…
BUT ALL OF THAT WILL MEAN NOTHING…IF BRODUER STRUGGLES EARLY IN THE TOURNAMENT…
AND NOBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT BETTER THAN BRODUER…
IN 2002 HE BEGAN THE OLYMPICS AS THE BACK UP TO CURTIS JOSEPH…
AFTER JOSEPH WAS BOMBED 5-2 BY SWEDEN IN THE OPENING GAME…BRODEUR LED TEAM CANADA THE REST OF THE WAY…
SO LUONGO MAY INDEED FIND THE “OLYMPIC SPOTLIGHT”…
BUT IN THE MEANTIME…HE HAS MUCH MORE PRESSING ISSUES TO DEAL WITH…
STARTING TONIGHT WITH NASHVILLE…