Is Cloutier ready for the Big TIme?
By John Kapty
ROUNDTABLESPORTS.COM
At the end of the 2001 regular season, no team in the NHL was hotter than the Vancouver Canucks. Led by the constant offensive production of Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi, Vancouver finished the season as the league leaders in goals scored, an amazing feat considering the talent level and payroll of such teams as Detroit and Colorado. The Canucks carried their good play into the playoffs, taking the first two games of the series in Detroit. Unfortunately, Detroit turned it around and relied on experience and dominating goaltending. Its these two things that separate teams like Detroit and teams like Vancouver. That’s not to say all is lost for the ‘Nucks. Every player on the team gained valuable playoff experience. Every player now has the task of raising his level high enough to compete in the pressure situation.
One player who will surely be looking to improve on a good performance last season is goalie Dan Cloutier. Dan had a breakout year and established himself as a goalie good enough to take a team to the playoffs. Before this season Cloutier had spent 5 seasons with Tampa Bay and the NY Rangers before joining the Canucks in 2001. He had amassed only 29 wins in those five seasons. 2002 was a different story for the 26 year old netminder. His total of 31 wins was good enough to tie for 9th in the NHL, and more than double his career total. Cloutier entered the post-season hot, as many Canucks did. He helped Vancouver jump out to that impressive 2-0 lead in the series, but then it happened. Yes, I’m talking about the centre-ice goal from Nicklas Lidstrom. It turned the tide of the game and the series. Detroit never looked back. Great players don’t let that type of thing keep them down, and I’m sure Dan has all but forgotten about it. Canucks fans, on the other hand, may not. Known as a city that turns on a goaltender at the drop of hat, many Vancouver fans were actually saying that the Canucks should start Peter Skudra in game 4 and 5 of the series. In many peoples minds, Cloutier is a question mark this year because of that one goal.
In my opinion, though, Canucks fans can sleep easy. Cloutier has shown constant improvement throughout his career, and shows no signs of stopping that trend. He wants badly to be a championship goalie, and for a change, his play actually matters. Expect Dan to continue his maturing process, and lead Vancouver to the playoffs for the third consecutive year. What happens then is anybody’s guess, but the Canucks know they were very close last year, and with any luck in the standings(hint: finish higher than 8th and avoid the top seed) or any luck in the post-season this team is poised to advance in the NHL playoffs.