Will it be Chicago Blackhawks or Florida Panthers for Vancouver Canucks' Roberto Luongo? –NHL Special
Roberto Luongo is definitely sure of not playing another season for Vancouver Canucks, but now the issue which is haunting the veteran goalie nowadays is whether to go on board with Chicago Blackhawks or Florida Panthers.
Florida Panthers had been the definite choice for Roberto Luongo a few days ago, due to it being his original franchise, but with prospects seeming to be dim for the goalie in southern Florida along with their not being much need of a veteran goaltender,
he is having to think twice.
Chicago is the next option on Luongo’s mind as the club could use a goalkeeper with his experience and would not mind bringing on board the massive annual salary that his long-term contract demands, but there has been no official response from Blackhawks
as of yet.
"A lot of cities are great to play in and Chicago's definitely one of them," Luongo said. "But you have to realize that it works both ways. It's also a question if the Blackhawks would be interested, if the (Canucks) would be interested in trading me there
and if I wanted to go there."
Showing that Vancouver had also moved on, the Canucks agree in principle with former backup goalie, Cory Schneider, who was given a major salary boost, hinting at him being their number one for the upcoming National Hockey League (NHL) season.
Talking on “the Jeff O’Neil Show” on 993 The Fox in Vancouver, Luongo was all praises for Schnider and believed he would do good with the Canucks club.
"Nobody called me, but I think that was to be expected. We've all seen what he's done in Vancouver the last couple of years. He's a tremendous talent. The main thing that I like about him is that he's a got a great head on his shoulders. He's a player that's
going to be able to handle the job and handle the market with that pressure.”
For many analysts, Florida seems to be the most viable option for the goalie as of right now, but what will Vancouver be getting in return? It is definitely a major part of the equation which the solution to is just not coming to the mind of any one right
now.
With 727 games played and an accumulated .919 save percentage and 2.52 goals-against average, Luongo definitely provides a lot to any team he plays for. He led Vancouver to winning the Presidents’ Trophy twice but choked in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals against
Tim Thomas and Boston Bruins.
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