Andrew Raycroft will Back Up Roberto Luongo in Vancouver

 Veteran goaltender Andrew Raycroft is under no illusions of possibly taking the number one job away from Vancouver Canucks star Roberto Luongo who posted 33 wins last season as the starting Canucks goalie. Raycroft who is a former 2004 Calder Trophy Winner recently signed a one- year deal worth 500,000 dollars to become the Canucks backup goalie. Even though he has had some past success including winning the OHL Goalie Of The year Award in 1999-2000 when he won 33 games for Kingston, this 29 year-old is more then happy to be a second stringer behind Luongo. “Lui is the top goalie in the league,” Raycroft who registered a 12-16-0 record with a respectable 3.14 GAA with the Colorado Avalanche this past season said. “He’s going to play when he feels good. I understand that.” This Belleville Ontario native has had a rough ride in the NHL since that magical rookie year when he went 29-18 with a tidy 2.05 GAA. Following the lockout Raycroft for whatever reason slumped and eventually lost his job. In only 30 games during that 2006 season with Boston Raycroft went 8-19-2 with a 3.71GAA. Needing a fresh start Raycroft who goes by the nickname “Razor” found himself traded that off -season to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he enjoyed an above average campaign with 37 wins while drastically lowering his GAA to 2.99. That unfortunately would be the only real high point for Raycroft in Toronto as he entered training camp the following season as the number two goalie. During that 2008 season Raycroft never complained as he participated in only 19 games and posted only 2 wins with an inflated 3.92 GAA. After being booed out of Toronto Raycroft went to Colorado where in his only season he had nothing but good things to say. Still he realizes that hockey is a business and is feeling excited and confident about the challenges that are ahead of him in Vancouver. “Coming into this year, I think I have a much better idea what I need to do on a daily basis to stay fresh and stay sharp,” Raycroft said. “In that respect, I feel much more confident and much more comfortable than I did going into last season.” “Whenever you get the call you have to play well. Practice becomes very important. Every team needs a second guy who can play. I look forward to having that chance.” In eight season this veteran who was originally selected 135^th overall by the Bruins has a career record of 94-96-16 and six shutouts.