The White Towel
The smile’s the same, but life’s been tough in Florida for former Canuck Eddie Lack
RALEIGH, N.C. — Eddie Lack isn’t playing.
It’s another blow in a season full of them. He had been texting Roberto Luongo for a couple of days, hoping to get the start against his old friend with Florida in town.
He found out late the night before it wasn’t happening. He’s not thrilled, but he never stops grinding. He’s the last member of the Carolina Hurricanes to leave their practice facility, long after every player, trainer and equipment manager. Long after everyone.
As he makes his way to the exits, two older female fans are still around. They murmur “he’s so funny” as he passes them.
“Eddie, Eddie,” one says, like she’s talking to her nephew.
“You got to try the taco at Wicked. Have you had it? You gotta have it.”
Lack smiles that wide, wicked Lack smile. “No,” he says, laughing. “You need to have Gonzo Tacos. That’s my place now.”
At Gonzo, Lack has become something of a pitchman. He has his own commercial and his own taco tattoo, tucked away on his upper-right forearm.
Yes, the old Eddie can still be found in Raleigh. But he’s getting harder to find. Things are different. Really different. You can start with the save percentage, .876 heading into the weekend. It’s a number that spits at you, providing a more direct message than anything else could have of how things are going for him in Carolina.
This has not been an easy start to his Hurricanes career. There has been frustration, biting and deep, like a flu you can’t shake. There have been sleepless nights. And there have been too many goals against.
“To be honest,” Lack says, “I don’t think it could have gone any worse.
“There wasn’t a lot of really bad goals, but there were a lot of goals which were scored on plays I couldn’t recognize myself.
“I know my game so well. I know what kind of goals I could have saved and what kind of goals I couldn’t.
“I was not seeing myself when I saw those goals.”
This month, at least, there’s finally been signs of life. There was a game against Anaheim a week ago, which was his best of the season. There were two straight wins. There is hope.
“There’s still a lot of work to do, but I feel like I’m getting better and better,” Lack said.
“I kind of feel like the old Eddie is back. A little bit.”
The “old Eddie,” of course, helped carry the Canucks into the playoffs eight months ago.
He was Vancouver’s brilliant starter for the closing chapter of a surprising season.
The city of Vancouver mostly wrapped its collective arms around him and whispered sweet nothings into his ear.
I’ve always said he was built for Vancouver.
And Vancouver was ready for him.
With a .927 save percentage as the No. 1, Lack did not disappoint. After the trade, when he spent a good chunk of his off-season in Vancouver, people were stopping him all over town, letting him know he’d be missed.
Things are quieter here. He’s not recognized. Not like he was. I’m not sure how much he likes that, but at least someone he lives with does.
“My girlfriend likes that my life is a lot calmer here,” Lack said. “I’m not ‘Rockstar Eddie’ here.
“I’m not flying away mentally. She’s happier. But it is tougher getting dinner reservations here, I can tell you that.”
The concept of Lack re-signing in Vancouver was probably a lot closer to happening than most understood.
“Up to the week before, I really didn’t think I was getting traded,” Lack said. “But the closer I got, the more smoke there was and I knew there was fire.
“In the last few days, I was just trying to figure out where I was going.”
The stories from behind the scenes indicate Lack’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, was trying to get his client paid after fellow Canucks Luca Sbisa and Derek Dorsett were signed for relatively big money.
As the story goes, Overhardt started by asking for an extension that was three or four years long, averaging more than $4 million a year.
General manager Jim Benning had no intention of paying anything close to that, deciding instead to move on.
Did Lack’s representation play a role in why he’s no longer a Canuck? Sure. Could it have worked out differently if Vancouver management was more enthusiastic about Lack and more willing to grind down the demands? Probably.
Would it have been better off for everyone if it did go down differently?
Well, Jacob Markstrom has yet to prove himself and Ryan Miller hasn’t been the same since October with a 6-9-2 record and a .902 save percentage.
As for Lack, he’s better than what you’ve seen this year. So much better. Why hasn’t it clicked yet with the Canes? Great question. If you laced Lack’s water bottle with a psychoactive medication cocktail, forcing him to be entirely honest, and then asked him to declare what he missed most about Vancouver, the betting favourite would be Rollie Melanson.
Lack and the Canucks goalie coach were a pretty great fit together. Melanson’s ultra-serious guiding hand worked well with Lack’s playful personality.
More importantly, Melanson’s core beliefs about goalies playing in the blue paint and deep in the crease fed into Lack’s strengths and helped overcome some of his weaknesses.
Not the quickest in going post to post, the depth ensured Lack had less distance to travel as he tracked the puck.
Playing deep became instinctual and comfortable.
Things are different with Carolina’s goalie coach David Marcoux.
“It’s different,” Lack said. “Rollie was 100 per cent about you live and die in the paint.
“Here, they want me to challenge more.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s been an adjustment. At times, it’s been really hard.
“Sometimes I catch myself in games looking down to see where I am in the crease because I have no idea where I am. “It’s coming.” It’s a fascinating situation for Lack. What if he believes the way he was doing it with Melanson was better for him?
What does he do, then? Remember, it was in Vancouver where he put up a .927 save percentage during his six weeks as the No. 1 goalie.
What if in his heart he knows that’s the way he should play?
Luongo has kept track of what’s happening with his former teammate.
“I think (the switch) are where the problems lie a little bit,” Luongo said. “He’s had to make some adjustments with the new goalie coach.
“That’s something he has to figure out within him. I know that’s not the type of hockey he’s used to playing.
“He has to figure out if he wants to play that way or not.”
That right there will be Lack’s biggest decision of this season.