from Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province,

There are those who would argue that Luongo is the totally blameless, aggrieved party in this whole sorry mess. And reading into his long period of silence, maybe Luongo was buying into that type of thinking as well, and in his heart of hearts, perhaps he still is.

Yes, he mentally had checked out at the end of the season, and was expecting a trade, and that didn’t happen, and we understand that.

Fair enough, it was tough and very unusual. But couldn’t he have rolled with the punches a little better? Couldn’t he imagine he’d been traded — to Vancouver? After all, with Alain the goaltender roaster gone, there will be a whole new direction to this team, and some new, young faces.

To his credit, even Luongo might finally be realizing that no matter how badly he might be feeling, this diva routine is getting a little embarrassing. As badly as the Canucks management misplayed this affair — and let’s be clear, they wholly miscalculated the goalie market — his response since June has not been as professional as his worshippers would have you believe.

Let’s hope for the sake of all concerned that his previously long-admired professionalism has finally returned, marked with his own words when he said: “I just want to play hockey.”

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