Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.41

www.afootinthecrease.com

Come the end of an NHL season when the finalists are announced for the variety of awards the league hands out, people tend to speculate over who will walk away with what. Generally the line is so fine between the quality of the top three up for each award, it is tough to argue after the winners are announced that a particular player should have won over the actual recipient. Maybe so, but the guy who won didn’t have that bad a year either right. You see my point.

When Martin Brodeur was announced as the Vezina Trophy winner on Thursday night over Roberto Luongo, a similar thought process went through my mind. When you sit back and think about it though, if the season Luongo had didn’t win him the Vezina Trophy, I don’t know what else he can do. Yes Brodeur was good this year and certainly a deserving candidate, but if you want to measure impact on a team, that nod certainly goes to Luongo. On a team that was arguable on par if not slightly below the quality of the Maple Leafs, Luongo carried the Canucks to a division championship. Brodeur did the same for the Devils, but they clearly had the stronger roster. Put Luongo on the Maple Leafs and the playoffs become a guarantee.

The Devils were expected to be a competitive team and they were. Many predicted the Canucks would not even make the playoffs, forget winning their division. Without Luongo, forget the playoffs. Without Brodeur, I still believe the Devils would have at the worst been in a race for the playoffs. If there was ever a year Brodeur was “less great”, I think this was it. Luongo was nothing but spectacular all year long.

Did Brodeur win on reputation? Perhaps. With virtually equal numbers during the season, Brodeur did not steal the Vezina Trophy. I just think Luongo deserved it that much more. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.