Roberto Luongo Steps Down As Canucks Captain

The Vancouver Canucks announced on Monday that Roberto Luongo has relinquished his captaincy, and the team will be looking for his replacement for the upcoming season. There was much speculation about this issue, and the announcement comes as little surprise to anyone in Vancouver as the rumours have been flying for a couple of months already.

Early speculation has Henrik Sedin, the NHL's leading scorer and MVP last season, as the most likely replacement, but Mike Gillis has stated that the team will not rush into any decisions. Ryan Kesler is another option, but many people feel he is not quite ready to accept a responsibility of that magnitude. Heading into the season without a captain is also a possibility for the Canucks, but Gillis did mention that he expects to make a final decision before the start of the regular season.

“Roberto has been an excellent captain for our team the past two seasons,” Gillis said in a statement. “We respect and support his decision to relinquish the captaincy and are confident that he will continue to help lead our team through his tremendous character and work ethic both on and off of the ice.”

The Canucks goalie was an anomaly, as a captain being a goaltender hasn't been done in the modern era.

Rumour has it that the responsibility of dealing with the media pre and post game was a bit too much to handle for Luongo, and a goalie being the spokesman for the team often made it sound like he was throwing his teammates under the bus.

According to Gillis and Luongo, it was the former captain's decision to step down, as opposed to management asking him to, which has been rumoured around town.

"I am honoured to have served as captain of the Vancouver Canucks for the past two seasons," Luongo said. "Being captain in a Canadian city for a team with such passionate fans is a privilege and an experience I will always take pride in. I will continue to be a leader on this team and support my teammates the same way I always have while focusing on our ultimate goal."

Expect Luongo to bounce back from a poor season (by his standards) with the pressure of being captain off his shoulders. Luongo was well-known for his game day preperation and often quirky superstitions which, before being named captain, included not talking to the media on game days.

Canucks win 6-2 in San Jose; Stay undefeated in preseason

Daniel and Henrik Sedin looked to be worth every penny of their new contract money in San Jose on Friday night, combining for 7 points as the Vancouver Canucks downed the San Jose Sharks 6-2. Playing alongside highly touted prospect Sergei Shirokov (2 assists), the Sedin's looked like men among boys against a young, prospect laden Sharks lineup. Henrik finished with 2 goals and 2 assists, while Daniel finished with 1 goal and 2 assists. Former Shark Christian Ehrhoff had a goal and an assist in his first game as a Canuck, while Willie Mitchell and Dave Scatchard provided the other tallies. Andrew Raycroft looked sharp in net for Vancouver, stopping 27 of 29 shots faced. The Canucks play their 3rd game in as many nights tonight, as they host the Edmonton Oilers at GM place. Cody Hodgson will make his season debut after finally recovering from his back injury.

Our take: It's very nice to see the twins and Shirokov have some chemistry. As of right now with the way Shirokov has played, it's hard to imagine he won't crack the opening day lineup, and if Friday night was any indication, it will probably be playing alongside the Sedins. Also, Andrew Raycroft played very well in net, which will make it a tough decision for management as to who will back up Roberto Luongo in net this year. Considering Raycroft makes almost half as what Corey Schneider makes, it's probably his job to lose at this point.