Roberto Luongo Eyes an Early Return: What This Means for Vancouver

Aside from the Vancouver Canucks' recent slump, most news is good news in the BC.

The Canucks are sitting atop the Northwest Division, and tied with the Calgary Flames at 33 points. Mats Sundin is set to finalize his short list of teams he will consider for his late-December return, and it seems that Vancouver will be high up on his short list of possible contenders.

The biggest surprise, however, has been the lightning-quick recovery of star goaltender, Roberto Luongo. Originally set to miss four to five weeks after injuring his groin on Nov. 22 against Pittsburgh, Luongo has been skating for about a week now, and is expected to return two or three weeks early.

Today, The Vancouver Province reported that Luongo, who had eleven wins and five shutouts before his injury, is eyeing a Saturday return to the Canucks lineup when they face-off against the Edmonton Oilers.

In the seven games since Luongo's injury, the Canucks have recorded an awful 2-4-1 record while still managing to average more than three goals per game, twice tallying four or more goals in losing efforts.

Needless to say, the Canucks miss their captain. Now that the Vancouver offense has found its scoring touch, Luongo's 2.17 GAA and .928 save percentage have been sorely missed for the past two weeks. If Luongo had been around this past week, the Canucks would likely be sitting pretty as sole leaders of the Northwest division.

Only speculation, of course.

Sunny skies lie ahead in Vancouver. A solid return by Luongo will only help their chances to land Sundin and potentially blossom into a legit contender out West. We'll keep an eye on Luongo's situation as the Canucks are a much-improved team with Big Roberto between the pipes.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?