It seems like Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault doesn’t care about his goaltenders’ feelings… but what do I know?
I know that Vigneault is not exactly a touchy feely guy. He’s not a coach who is going to try and manage his players’ emotions. He expects his players to be able to handle tough decisions. I remember when the whole Carey Price vs. Jaroslav Halak story was blowing up in Montreal a few years ago and some were suggesting that giving Price a certain start would devastate Halak and ruin his confidence. Vigneault told me something to the effect of, “Are you kidding me? You’ve got to be a lot mentally tougher than that to play goalie in this league, no?”
I know that the head coach is not going to “lose” Cory Schneider by giving Roberto Luongo the starts against the Los Angeles King and Chicago Blackhawks. Schneider is no doubt disappointed about Vigneault’s decisions and he is certainly sick of answering the same questions by us idiots in the media day after day but he is also a team first pro. Schneider has handled everything thrown his way beautifully during this whole mess and there is no reason to believe he won’t continue to do so.
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He won’t say it, but he is pissed off, and he will use that fire to prove he should be the No. 1 guy the next time he starts. If Vigneault didn’t lose Luongo after he started Schneider in Game 6 of the first round in 2011 or when he started Schneider in Game 3 of the first round of 2012 then I’m pretty sure Schneider won’t be “lost” by missing a few early season starts in 2013.
I know we shouldn’t be all that surprised that Vigneault is going with the hot guy. He did this last season as well. Luongo had to sit out a couple of games due to injury in November and when he returned he couldn’t get back into the net because Schneider was playing so well. Luongo sat on the bench for four games before getting the starting job back.
I know that this mess is not going to be cleaned up until Luongo is traded. Game after game the questions will be asked because game after game it’s a compelling storyline. Jason Botchford of the Province has the best line so far, calling it “Cirque du Goalie.” The Blackhawks had to leave Chicago to get away from the annual circus that takes over the United Center. Little did they know they were walking right into a bigger one in Vancouver.
And finally, on a personal note: With the Davis Cup in town it reminds me how much I miss my dear friend Dr. Jamie Buchanan. Jamie, two of his sons and I took in the Davis Cup tie versus France last February and since he has passed away after a year-long battle with cancer. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of Jamie, the weekly conversations we had about sports and the wife and three young boys he left behind.