Can Roberto Luongo Stay in Vancouver?

Don’t believe everything you read. Luongo’s exit from VanCity is not a certainty, and it’s not like he has been banished, exiled, or even murdered. Napoleon returned to France, Robert Downey Jr. returned to Hollywood, and even O.J. returned to jail.

Roberto Luongo can certainly return to Vancouver.

You may say that too much has happened to him, but I’d argue that Cory Schneider is starting down a more volatile gun barrel than Luongo. You may say that the fans hate him, but that just isn’t true. Fans hate anybody who doesn’t perform, and they once loved him like a family member.

You may say that he’s too old, but that isn’t true, either. At 33 years old, Luongo can play at a high level until he’s 38, and six years is plenty of time to win a Stanley Cup. After all, if you can’t win one Cup in an eight-year window, you were never going to. And, besides, try naming another goalie besides Martin Brodeur or Bobby Lou who has played every year of his career at All-Star calibre…

You may say his contract sucks, but since when is $5.33 million a year too much for a Hall of Fame netminder?

Honestly, in what world is Roberto Luongo not the guy you wait for? Brian Burke and Dale Tallon – the two GMs who are (apparently) in the lead for the Italian Stallion’s services – know how good Luongo is, but they’re short-selling him because they can.

Ironically, and not surprisingly, most of the damage on the PR side has bee done by Canucks fans. It’s the West Coast’s loyal base that has ruined Roberto’s perception. Booing him when he lets in a goal, cheering when Cory Schneider comes in to replace him, and forcing The Province to write every story about Vancouver’s goalie controversy.

I mean, let’s face it, The Province writes to provoke, and they know how to play you, Vancouver.

You know that scene at the end of the third season of Entourage? (Yea, I’m sorry to do that to you.) The guys spend all day searching for new agents, convinced that Ari Gold is just not the guy for them anymore. They’ve gone as far as they can with him, and there’s nothing more he can do for them. Of course, we all knew it was the wrong decision, and so does Johnny Drama, who reminds him what a blessing it is to have the best agent in town. They ditch Ari, and they come crawling back.

Only, this time, you can’t go back after you ditch him.

Can Roberto Luongo survive in Vancouver? Of course he can. He may not want to, or we just may not know, because nobody’s saying anything.

Besides… wherever he goes, he’s turning a bubble team into a contender at the flick of a switch.