"Glenn Hall has long said that taking grief is part of a goaltender's lot in life.

Think of it along the lines of the income tax deductions that come with a healthy paycheque.

But, for those who want to send Roberto Luongo to the guillotine, is he really the reason the Vancouver Canucks are still looking for their first Stanley Cup after 41 National Hockey League seasons?

OK, he seems prone to the odd goal where fans wonder "how did that go in?" But it's not like he's Jon Casey, the beleaguered goalie trying to conceal what Boston Globe scribe Kevin Dupont called "the technicolour five-hole." Luongo is not as good as he has been made out to be, but he's still one of the half-dozen best goalies in the game.

The Canucks, who led the Cup final for just 32 minutes against the Boston Bruins, scored only eight goals in seven games. Seven goals even-strength. Not to be an apologist for Luongo, who was outplayed by Timmy Thomas, but even if he had given up two goals a game in the Stanley Cup Final, the Canucks, who are a tough team to embrace because of their signature "woe is me" attitude, would still have lost.

A good number of fans want to install Cory Schneider as the Canucks' starter. They think GM Mike Gillis lost his mind giving Luongo that 12-year contract at an annual cap hit of $5.33 million. Luongo didn't help himself when he said he could have made the save on the only goal Thomas allowed in the 1-0 Game 5 Vancouver win. And grumbling that Thomas was getting fairer treatment in the media didn't win him any friends, but, live and learn. He was far from all-world in four or five of the Canucks 25 playoff games, but does he deserve to be the lightning rod for the team's loss?

"Good question," said former Columbus-Philadelphia-Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock who was part of Canada's 2010 Olympic team when Luongo won a gold medal, and also on the World Cup coaching staff in 2004 when Luongo shone for Canada."