What's wrong with Luongo? - Fantasy Sports Forums

ridinryan44 · #1 10-20-2011, 07:17 PM

The facade that Roberto Luongo has put on lately is tough to watch, especially knowing that he isn't a bad goaltender. Where has the goaltender from the 2007 playoffs gone to? His spectacular performance in head-to-head battle against Marty Turco, including a 76-shot, quadruple-overtime win, in the first round was nothing short of amazing. Luongo has consistently been a Vezina threat as well as tops in the league for wins. Long-gone (or so it seems) are the shutouts and the feeling that nothing could beat him. I remember when a two-on-one would come down the ice and I knew, almost for certain, that Luongo was going to stop the puck. I felt safe, comfortable and most importantly, confident - something I'm sure the players iced in front of him felt as well. It showed in their play.

There are many theories as to why Luongo's play has faltered. Everything from having his baby, to lack of mental toughness, being over-coached and occasionally the idea that he has his long term contract and no longer cares enough to put in the effort it takes to play at the elite level we expect him to. Each theory could be accurate on it's own or as each making a contribution to the decline in his play. The skill is still there, the desire is still there and the ability to turn things around is definitely there; the hard part is pin-pointing the problem and fixing it.

If you asked me (you didn't but I'm gonna tell you anyways) there is one glaring change that has preceded Luongo's decline. His name is Ian Clark and he was Luongo's goalie coach back from his Florida days up until 2010, when he was replaced by Rolie Melanson. Clark is knowing throughout the goaltending world as an excellent coach with a long history and resume. Performance Goaltending had this to say about Clark:

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"At Performance Goaltending we've widely adopted the teachings of Ian Clarke, goalie coach for the Vancouver Canucks and one of the brightest minds in the game. Ian has contributed greatly to the technical training and understanding of the goaltending position. "We've used Ian's training guidelines for many years and personally tested them to ensure they are sensible. We've found his system to be effective and suitable for almost any goalie looking to play a modern style. His success at the NHL and International level speaks for itself." Even Hockey Canada uses Ian's ideas and drills in their Goaltending Skills Manual, something we also use as a guide for age specific ideas and progress indicators.

Using Ian's materials forces one to critically examine the most important elements of the game, right down to the details many goalies rarely consider. We appreciate the depth of analysis Ian brings to the table yet we recognize that not every goalie will be interested in fully digesting this information. "It's our job to simplify the key concepts and deliver them in a manner consistent with the goalies we are training."

Clark is the founder and President of the Goaltender Development Institute which forced him into the role of part-time goaltending coach, rather than full-time. This led to the eventual breakup between he and the team. Luongo, under Clark, played a much different game compared to now. He played a game of pure confidence. He played way out in front of his net, cutting down the angles and playing percentages. If one got by him it was either a great shot, an unfortunate rebound or the "fault" of his defenseman failing the assignment that he was given. His play was like that of Tim Thomas which worked in shutting Vancouver down in the Stanley Cup finals. No matter how you looked at it Luongo minimized the chances of a puck getting by him.

Today, Luongo no longer plays out high in front of his net. Interestingly enough he doesn't play deep in his net either. Rolie Melanson does employ a style that sees Luongo playing deeper in his net than before instead of challenging the shooter, but Lou never appears to be positionally consistent. I, honestly, don't know where Luongo plays positionally, and I don't think he does either. Luongo is so deep inside of his head, whether it's being over-coached or not coached the right way, he isn't conveying any sort of specific playing style and his lack of consistent success has affected his confidence in a major way. The addition of poor fan support and the fact that no one wants to be the scape goat for a losing team only makes things worse. I feel for Luongo when the boo's rain down, but at the same time Luongo is paid like an elite player and he needs to perform like one.

If it's making another goalie change, taking a step back and re-forming his strategy or starting from scratch, Luongo needs to make some sort of major change. If Ian Clark weren't currently working with the Columbus Blue Jackets (full-time believe it or not) than I would say do whatever they can to get him back. Things aren't working out for Luongo or his fans, and his head and play are suffering. Something has to give.

duballstar014 · #2 11-01-2011, 03:39 PM

Thanks for the insight R242. This is the first year I've owned Luongo and he's killin me! Hopefully he can make it work with his current coach...or maybe get traded to the Blue Jackets?

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