Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo sits on the bench against the Kings during Game 4 of their NHL Western Conference quarterfinal series at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., April 18, 2012. (DANNY MOLOSHOK/Reuters)
CHICAGO - After leaving the Toronto organization to become the assistant general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, Rick Dudley claimed the Maple Leafs, with the same roster they had last spring, would be a playoff team if they had solid goaltending.
Roberto Luongo certainly would fit that bill. And, amidst all this Luongo-to-Toronto speculation, this could very well be a case of “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
To Dudley’s point: As much potential as James Reimer and Ben Scrivens might have, how many times can you say a goaltender in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey “stole” a game in the past two seasons? The past five? Upon further review, you’d probably be hard pressed to count on one hand how many times that has happened since Ed Belfour posted a miniscule 2.13 goals-against average in 2003-04.
