the 1999 World Junior Championships. They lost in overtime to a far-better Russian team. Flanking that tournament, Luongo would set playoff records in the QJMHL for wins, on his way to back-to-back (with two different teams) league championships. In the two Memorial Cup appearances, Luongo's teams didn't win a game. Perhaps we should have known then. It's a constant quest; goaltenders are like women. The right one is out there. She has to be. Sure, we'll settle for the James Reimers, the Ondrej Pavelecs, or the Corey Crawfords along the way, because they're fun, or really hot. Even if you know you don't want to spend more than a couple seasons with them. Every once in a while, you stumble onto a potential number one. In the case of Luongo, the Canucks seemingly never had a shot. He was drafted by the inept Islanders, who foolishly then traded him to the Panthers. They never appreciated him. He did everything he could behind their lousy defence. Setting records for shots faced in a season; and stopping a lot of them. Then it happened, like stumbling into the right bar on New Year's Eve, the Canucks got lucky. Sometimes it's easy, other times it's next to impossible to get that girl to notice you. There's almost never an in-between. This one was easy. Todd Bertuzzi (and some other fodder) for Luongo. Big contract extension for Luongo. Done deal. You get the girl to agree to go to dinner with you. Now what?

In the case of the Canucks and Roberto Luongo, things went decidedly well. Like nothing we'd ever felt before. A feeling of reliance, and stability, not previously recognized. Forty-seven wins. That's right. 4-7. That was how many games Luongo won in his first season between the pipes for Vancouver, as he was the runner-up to Sidney Crosby for the Hart Trophy as league MVP. His masterpiece - a 72-save performance in a quadruple overtime playoff win over the Dallas Stars. A series the Canucks would win in seven games. In that series, the Canucks scored 0 goals in the three games they lost. That's right, if they scored, they won. We could get used to this. The Canucks lost to the eventual champion Anaheim Ducks in the next round. Despite a 56-save performance, the final game of that series was ended when Scott Niedermayer scored on a long shot that Luongo wasn't paying attention to. Like the faint early signs of emotional instability from a woman, we didn't notice anything. We were in puppy love. Early in a relationship, you'd do anything for the other person, and they would do anything for you. After all, this is the one we're going the distance with. Isn't it?? They can do no wrong in your eyes. Even after missing the playoffs next year, in part due to an exhausted Luongo faltering down the stretch, in bigger part due to the dwindling ability of some former stars, the Canucks proved they felt Luongo was worth their highest honour – Captain.

 

The CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother is known for a lot of great theories, concepts and rules. Perhaps the best one is the 'Ohhh Moment' from Season Two. This the moment in the relationship when you learn something about the other that is a dealbreaker. The fatal flaw. The funny thing about Ohhh Moments is that even if they come up early on, you're still willing to ride it out, just in case what you saw as an Ohhh Moment wasn't really one. The funny thing is? It always is. For the Canucks, maybe their Ohhh Moment with Luongo should have been sooner. Maybe it should have been the Niedermayer goal (or the earlier bathroom break in that game), maybe it should have been the tears after the 2008 season, or maybe it should have been the Achilles heel that was the United Center. After all, everyone who knows hockey will tell you, Luongo couldn't win in Chicago. All your buddies will say, wait, what about those nights in the 'Madhouse', with the red lights flashing and the loud music? What a mess that was. Except wait a minute, it's a weird thing, perception. The perception is that Luongo gets lit up every time he has a playoff game in Chicago. But, let's take a closer look:

 

2009

Game 3: 3-1 win (Nice!)

Game 4: 2-1 loss in overtime (that's pretty good)

Game 6: 7-5 loss (oh, well, no one was stopping pucks that night)

 

2010

Game 1: 5-1 win (Sweet!)

Game 2: 4-2 loss (with an empty-net goal, not great, but 3 goals is no disaster)

Game 5: 4-1 win (Great!)

 

2011

Game 3: 3-2 win (Another good one!)

Game 4: 7-2 loss (OK, there's a bad one)

Game 6: Didn't start, but gave up one goal, the OT-goal, after stopping 15 shots, in a 4-3 loss.

 

So, basically, if you ask most people they think Luongo was a sort of disaster in Chicago, when in reality, he acquitted himself somewhere between 'fine' and 'spectacular' in seven of their nine matchups. It's actually AT HOME where he was frequently shaky, with home-ice losses (5-2, 7-4, 5-1) during the 2009 playoff loss to Chicago. The point here is, it wasn't a simple matter of being weak on the road, and comfortable at home. He had good games and he had bad games. Moreover there should have been, and was, plenty of blame to go around for those losses. However, maybe the Ohhh Moment should have been when Luongo gave up a nightly soft goal against an otherwise over-matched Predators team in round two last year. None of these were the case. For every soft goal, there were two spectacular saves. For every bad game, there were two shutouts. For the media, those bad games were far more interesting. For someone who's been the pretty girl at the dance for as long as Luongo has, the longer we stare the more we can pick her apart. Especially if she's not with you. They could say what they wanted about our star, but the fact remained that any goaltender who was the preeminent person at the position for over a decade is going to have a lot of tape to analyze. We don't track everything Pekka Rinne or Henrik Lundqvist do. The future of our Olympic Team doesn't rest on their shoulders. Carey Price will have his chance. Marc-Andre Fleury was fortunate enough to have Crosby and Malkin in front of him to get his ring. Cam Ward caught lightning in a bottle as a rookie. So did Martin Brodeur, to get everyone off his back, allowing him an excuse for numerous shitty playoff performances over the years. Everyone else has sort of come and gone. No one else is a storyline.

 

So we ignored it all. Everyone has flaws. Who's to say one thing is a fatal flaw and another thing is a cute foible. In relationships, one man's trash is another man's gold. I work at night. To some that might be a deal breaker. To others, perfectly convenient. It depends what you're looking for. If you're confident and independent, you probably don't need someone by your side every night for the rest of your life. If you're a homebody who gets lonely easily then maybe you need that person to cling to each night. Some men don't want their girl as the life of the party. Others are happy to let her loose on the dance floor while he has a relaxing drink with the guys. Different things work for different people. Maybe having a goaltender that gives up no more than three, but no fewer than two goals is something that works for some teams. Maybe we are willing to risk the occasional crash and burn off-night for multiple shutouts in the Stanley Cup Finals. At least, that's what we as Canucks fans told ourselves. Then the Ohhh Moment came. Two chances, one win, all that was needed to win the Stanley Cup. One win that would put up all the misconceptions and the vindictiveness behind. All the baggage goes out the window. The monkey off the back.

 

First try: Four goals in a 4:14 span in the first period. 4-0. Game over.

Second try: Three goals on 13 shots in the first two periods. 3-0. Dream over.

 

During our entire relationship, through the ups and the downs, and the seemingly obvious Ohhh Moments, I could always defend Roberto Luongo. “Who else would I definitely rather have?” I'd say. He was always unfairly treated, so I'd defend him. Not because I didn't know the flaws, but because it was the right thing to do. The fair thing to do. And I was right too. There wasn't anyone else I could definitely say I’d rather have in those given moments. But there WAS always someone else...

 

The thing about relationships is that there IS always someone else.

 

There are people from the past – Did you give that person a fair chance? Were you unfair to them? Maybe it was bad timing?

There are people from your current – The girl from work you've had a crush on for months. The girl from work you've had a crush on for weeks. The girl from work you've had a crush on for days.

There are people from your future – The idea that there's always someone better. Better for you. Better looking. Smarter. Funnier. Is this person the ONE. Or is that person someone you haven't even met yet?