Roberto Luongo Relinquishes Captaincy, Pressure As Canucks Captain

When the Vancouver Canucks chose to designate Roberto Luongo as team captain two years ago, it was kind of groundbreaking. Not only would he be just the sixth goaltender in NHL history to assume the role, but it had been 60 years since Bull Durnam was captain of the Montreal Canadiens and effectively forced the NHL to prohibit goalies from acting as a captain or alternate captain. You see, Durnan would lug himself out of the goal crease so often during games to argue calls that opponents complained it gave the Habs frequent unscheduled timeouts. Thus, the “Durnan Rule” was put into effect and no netminder since him would be granted a “C” or “A”.

To this day, the NHL still restricts goalies from wearing those letters on their jerseys and cting as a captain when it comes to talking with officials or taking ceremonial faceoffs. However, a goalie can be designated a captain for locker room purposes. And it only took six decades for a team to finally do it.



At the time that the Canucks tabbed Luongo as their lead man and painted a “C” on his mask instead, it was the right move for the team to make. Previous captain Markus Naslund vacated the spot when he left for the New York Rangers as an unrestricted free agent and nobody else on the team embodied the leadership and experience required to lead on and off the ice like Luongo.

“Selecting Roberto Luongo as our Captain is a significant decision for our entire organization,” General Manager Mike Gillis said in a statement on Sept. 30, 2008. “Alain [Vignault] and I were looking for someone to lead this team, who inspires his teammates, is respected for his on-ice accomplishments and who embodies the core values we are striving for as a hockey club.”

To be fair, offense was down as the team shifted to become more defensive, the Sedin twins had not yet completely broken out as studs and Luongo was the face of the franchise. The team’s success was believed to be on his shoulders in every conceivable way.

That's not quite the case anymore and Luongo has decided being captain is not the best fit for him. He met with Gillis on Sunday evening and the GM informed the rest of the world on Monday the team would be seeking a new man to sport the “C”.

“He confirmed last night and said he’d rather just focus on stopping the puck,” Gillis said. “He’s going to continue with all the leadership stuff he did before, but not have the same sort of expectations with the media on game days that has happened the last couple of years. He’s focused on trying to win a Stanley Cup and feels this is in the best interests of the team.”

Luongo’s play in net has led the Canucks to a lot of success over the past two seasons, including straight division crowns and Conference Semifinal appearances in the postseason. But his play would slip in the playoffs both years and many assumed the strain of being the spokesperson of the team was at least partly responsible.

“It may be incompatible with goaltending and the expectations that are placed on a captain in terms of availability and being the spokesman of the team,” Gillis said. “It may have been a little too much based on how he likes to prepare and what he likes to do to get ready for the game.”

Gillis made sure to point out that Luongo removed himself as team captain; it was not taken away from him by the team.

The Canucks will determine their next captain and set of alternates by the start of the regular season. Several players on the team could step up to take the “C”, but only two players really stand out as leading candidates. Last season’s Hart Trophy winner Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler make the most sense. While Kesler will inevitably end up as the captain, Henrik gets my vote right now with his brother, Daniel, and Kesler serving as the alternates.