Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
I'll add one more thing...
Schneider was one of Vancouver's most valuable assets. Obviously they have the Sedins and Kesler. Some would list Burrows next, or maybe Hamhuis/Edler/Bieksa, whatever your preference.
But it would be hard to argue that Schneider would be any worse than 5th or 6th: potential #1, potential all-star goalie on a decent contract.
Horvat is a solid prospect and I would have loved to have him join the Flames fold. But there is no way in hell that the Canucks got better from that trade. Horvat could be contributing to the team in a couple years as a 3rd line C (something they need). But the Nucks window is now and they had to give away one of their best players - just entering his prime - for a pick.
To call that anything other than a failure is a stretch IMO.
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The Canucks didn't get worse as Luongo is the better goalie so short term they don't lose anything in net and if this allows them to keep or add skaters due to the cap then they could be better short term.
There is an issue if Luongo decides he doesn't want to play but I think that likely gets resolved as Luongo doesn't really have much of a choice.
Perhaps 3-4 years from now when Luongo is retired/old the Canucks would prefer to have a 30 year old Schneider but it isn't like he was some 22 year old stud. He was a 27 okay goalie who if he has a great season may make an all-star team but is likely more of a 15-20 goalie in the league. He looked okay at times with a top team in front of him but let in some brutal goals and seemed to not make the big saves when needed. He is lucky everyone focused so much on Luongo so they ignored his iffy play at times.
We will have to wait to see how Horvat turns out but tough to say that its a failure when the Canucks improve their goaltending and go from a disasterous two headed monster to a clear #1 guy and add a top 10 pick.