Nothing Done for Veteran Goalie Roberto Luongo yet -NHL Special
It has been a long offseason for the Vancouver Canucks and their veteran goalie, Roberto Luongo, as they continue to figure out how to tackle the situation of the net minder wanting to leave along with the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise having a
starting goalie for next season.
Luongo, now 33-years-old, has been the face of the Canadian franchise ever since he joined them to become their leading goalie prior to the 2006-2007 NHL regular season in which he had a breakthrough performance with 76 games played, a .921 save percentage
and 2.29 goals-against average.
He was touted to be joining the Toronto Maple Leafs during the past few weeks as recent reports about James Reimer, the Maple Leafs goalie, were uncovered about how in return was practicing with the Vancouver Canucks. Nothing seems to be officially confirmed
as of yet as some sources point towards both teams wanting to test before making a trade final, but others are saying Luongo has not even received a response from the Ontario based team.
Sportsnet’s John Shannon is believed to have reported that both teams are ready for a trade, but will make it only when they are allowed to, which would obviously be when the lockout comes to an end. Until then, it is also known that both are training continuously
to make a major impact next time around as both have not been able to make a major impact for either team.
While Roberto Luongo has led the Vancouver Canucks to two straight Presidents’ Trophy’s buy ending atop the league in 2011 and 2012, along with making an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals last year, he has failed to get them to their ultimate goal of
winning the championship.
This year was a real disappointment for the veteran goalie as he failed to perform again in the playoffs and was replaced by backup Cory Schneider right after game-one against the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round.
There are a number of factors that may influence a trade really coming about. The first and foremost is the question whether Roberto Luongo is looking forward to playing with the Toronto Maple Leafs or not. Prior to this, he had been looking towards playing
with his old team, the Florida Panthers, but they explicitly denied wanting to be a part of it.
His huge, 12-year, $64 million contract is another concern for any team that he would be joining as most fear the fact that he would have to either buy him out or struggle for a trade if he fails to perform in the future again.
Only time will tell where Roberto Luongo will be playing and that time will be after the lockout comes to an end for sure.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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