I think this is a great move by the Canucks. Luongo clearly couldn't handle the pressure, and it affected his play. I think Henrik is a much better choice. He has shown his ability to thrive under pressure while having a career year last season despite losing his usual playing partner to injury. It was also his brother, someone he has seemingly always played alongside.
In my limited viewings of western conference games, I cannot say for certain he is always this way, but I have always seen him play hard. He seems like the type to lead by example rather than huge pep talks. Which I think is good. Leave it all on the ice and let your actions speak for you. With the Canucks favored by almost everyone, I think that Henrik will be able to handle the expectations of the media. However, I do think there are a few other teams in the West who will have something to say come playoff time, but that's still a ways off, so no need to jump the gun.
Some more Western Conference ramblings. How about those Oilers? They put a hurtin' on the Flames, both literally an figuratively, then win another over the lowly Florida Panthers. While not exactly what I would call the hardest of competition, the Oilers have played well. Khabibulin hasn't been arrested yet, and the young talent of players like Eberle and Hall seem to be capable NHLers already. I hope this isn't just a flash in the pan or an early season surge, but right now they look like a much improved squad from last season. If Hemsky can stay healthy this season, the Oilers will have a much improved goals for, as opposed to last season when they couldn't score in a monkey whorehouse with a fist full of bananas. Anyway, they should prove to entertaining if anything. I still don't think they're a playoff team, but they'll be fun to watch and could possibly play the spoiler come late march-early april.
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