Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman not interested in Roberto Luongo -NHL Update
To the surprise of many, Tampa Bay Lightning general manager, Steve Yzerman, explicitly let the media know on Thursday, May 24, 2012, that he was not interested in trading for veteran Vancouver Canucks goalie, Roberto Luongo.
Seeing how Tampa Bay is facing an all-time low in regards to their goaltending, which has become a major issue being dealt by the team at the time, Roberto Luongo was rumoured to be in the pipeline of a Vancouver-Tampa Bay deal.
"I think everybody’s trying to find somebody that’s that elite guy... My philosophy, I’m trying to find that Hall of Famer goaltender. Good luck trying to do that. It takes time. We’ll find that through the draft, through unrestricted free agency. That guy
isn’t there at this time,” Yzerman said.
It seems the reason for not going after Luongo might not be his bad playoffs performance after all. Yzerman instead, termed his search being one that would focus on a younger goalie that could lead the team for the time to come. Instead of picking up a veteran
goalie for a huge price and having to do this process all over again in a few years, Yzerman is planning long term.
“Obviously I’d love to have a 20-year-old [Roberto] or Martin Brodeur and not worry about goaltending for the next 20 years, but that’s hard to do," Yzerman said.
Picking out an elite goalie is something very hard to do in the National Hockey League (NHL) for sure. Many teams have gambled and won while others have lost.
One example of being lucky was Washington Capitals this year as they lost both top goalies and were forced to recall Braden Holtby from the minor leagues for his first ever playoff appearance.
Amazingly, Holtby turned out to be a real gem and will surely be leading Washington for the time to come after an unprecedented performance in taking down 2012 Stanley Cup champions, the Boston Bruins and Tim Thomas is the opening round of the playoffs.
Updates on the issue regarding Steve Yzerman and his hunt for that perfect goalie can be expected near the free agency and NHL Entry Draft, which is scheduled to be held later on in June.
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