How does the Canucks/Luongo saga end?

[Meers]

Get real folks.

Luongo behaved like a consummate pro despite the nutty situation he found himself in last season.

He will no doubt continue to comport himself like a professional and play in net for the Canucks - because that's his only realistic option going forward if he wants to continue drawing his wonderful salary in the NHL.

Given the quality and consistency of his play now for 13 seasons (0.919 SV%), I can easily see him tending the net for the Canucks for years to come. If there's a netminder with the fundamentals and pedigree to play into his 40s, it's Roberto. He's no flash in the pan.

And of course he's in the mix for Team Canada in the next Olympics - because he's already been there, done that and walked away with a lump of gold for his mantlepiece.

[CaptainCrunch]

How does this end part two

We see a closed door and we hear voices from behind the door, one is clearly Roberto Loungo, the other far more whiny voice is Mike Gillis.

Loungo - "Ok, Gillis, you have to clean every inch of that shaft, and get every bit of the lubricant off of it. Yeah, that's a nice job. Now make sure you spend extra time at the top, yeah that's good"

Gillis - "But Roberto this feels wrong and I'm getting grease all over my face"

Loungo -"Hey you agreed to do this. Now I you need to inspect the balls, I want em to be be completely cleaned off. That's right. Hey don't rub em so hard, you wanna hurt them. Yeah there's a lot of dirt there, get that dirt boy"

Gillis - "If I do this can we go back to being friends"

Loungo - "You're going to have to work a lot harder then this. Now move your hand up the shaft, there we go"

Gillis - "eww its greasy"

Loungo - "Hey don't cheap out of the lubricant, do you want me to play goal next year or not"

Gillis sounding like a spoiled 6 year old - "ok"

Loungo - "Ok what?"

Gillis - "Ok master"

Loungo - "excellent. Now I want you to pull the plug out of that hole, and a lot of really foul stuff is gonna come out of there."

Gillis - "ok . . . . . . . ewww ewww ewww ewww"

Loungo - "Shaddup, you know you like it deep down. Now stick your finger in that hole there's probably a lot of old crud in there, and I want it clean as a whistle"

The door opens and Loungo steps out on his way to get a beer. In the garage we see a pair of loafered feet sticking out from under a 1967 Mustang as we fade to credits.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Meers

Luongo behaved like a consummate pro despite the nutty situation he found himself in last season.

Yeah he did but at the same time there was no longer any pressure on him seeing that he was relagated to backup and his wish of being traded out of Vancouver was granted by the GM. Just like when an employee puts in their two weeks notice the last couple of weeks even at a place you hate are easy because you don't really care anymore. It was just a matter of time until he could put Vancouver behind him..........Oooops!

I imagine he's very, very upset and it will be interesting to see if he accepts this or pulls a Carson Palmer and says he will retire if he has to spend his career with the Canucks.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I imagine he's very, very upset and it will be interesting to see if he accepts this or pulls a Carson Palmer and says he will retire if he has to spend his career with the Canucks.

Would you retire from any job knowing you had $33m waiting for you over the next 5 years and $40 over the next 9? Not only that but giving up on doing what you've done your whole life just to prove a point. I'm trying to think of another situation similar to this and how the player reacted in any sport but can't.

My biggest concern as management and as a teammate is where is his head at now and where will it be going into the season. I feel that Luongo was wanting to get out of Vancouver so bad to prove them wrong, but will he have that extra gear being stuck with the team that brushed him aside so quickly?

Between Tortorella and Luongo there is going to be a very short leash for this team when it comes to the fan base and the media so it should be very interesting if the team has a slow start next year or goes into a funk. I'm always hoping for a Canucks loss but I think this year it will be so much more entertaining as a Flames fan in a rebuild year.

Gillis always has to be the worst and luckiest GM in the history of the league. Gets to keep the better goaltender not because it was his choice but because he gave out such a horrible contract and couldn't move him.

[Tinordi]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Would you retire from any job knowing you had $33m waiting for you over the next 5 years and $40 over the next 9? Not only that but giving up on doing what you've done your whole life just to prove a point. I'm trying to think of another situation similar to this and how the player reacted in any sport but can't.

My biggest concern as management and as a teammate is where is his head at now and where will it be going into the season. I feel that Luongo was wanting to get out of Vancouver so bad to prove them wrong, but will he have that extra gear being stuck with the team that brushed him aside so quickly?

Between Tortorella and Luongo there is going to be a very short leash for this team when it comes to the fan base and the media so it should be very interesting if the team has a slow start next year or goes into a funk. I'm always hoping for a Canucks loss but I think this year it will be so much more entertaining as a Flames fan in a rebuild year.

Gillis always has to be the worst and luckiest GM in the history of the league. Gets to keep the better goaltender not because it was his choice but because he gave out such a horrible contract and couldn't move him.

Good, rational, level headed, reality based post.

Luongo is nothing if not a pro especially after the circus show he's had to deal with in the past 3 years. He has all of the financial reasons to play his contract out, and the Canucks have all of their competitive reasons to support him as their goalie. All the gum flapping about him leaving to prove a point or about him leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table are just delusions of a rival-fans fever.

[SuperMatt18]

Lou is a pro. He will play and he will still be top 10 quality in the NHL.

Biggest concern now for the Nucks is if he retires after 5 years. Does Lou really want to play in Vancouver (far away from his family) for $7 million over 4 years? I doubt it.

Lou probably retires in 2019 and then the Canucks get a nice $4 million dollar cap hit for 3 years.

[Meers]

Well, it's just been announced that Luongo will be representing the B.C. Lottery Corp. again at the upcoming World Series of Poker. Not exactly the mark of a man about to burn his bridges with the West Coast.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/h...952/story.html

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Meers

Well, it's just been announced that Luongo will be representing the B.C. Lottery Corp. again at the upcoming World Series of Poker. Not exactly the mark of a man about to burn his bridges with the West Coast.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/h...952/story.html

Boy trying real hard to find some proof eh?
I don't think he will have a problem playing in Vancouver - but this as some sort of indication of that...a reach.

[PeteMoss]

This contract is still hilarious. I'm sure he'll play for the Canucks until at least 2018 when his salary starts to dip. The main question is does he work as hard as you need to do as an older goalie to stay on top of his game. This whole experience has probably done a number on his joy of playing the game.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Boy trying real hard to find some proof eh?
I don't think he will have a problem playing in Vancouver - but this as some sort of indication of that...a reach.

I'm sure the media has been phoning him non-stop in hopes of getting a comment but he's gone totally silent. Wonder when he will come out and make a statement.

[Tsawwassen]

Originally Posted by FAN

WTF? Every member of that team deserves a Gold Medal.

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Oh c'mon. Give back his medal?

Luongo is better than Fleury. Consistently.
Brodeur is close to retiring. He didn't look great himself in 2010.
Anderson and Crawford should be given a hard look.

If Luongo continues his play as he has the past few seasons, he will be on the Sochi roster, as will Cam Ward.

Okay, I know that giving back his medal isn't going to happen. I'm just not happy having the Vancouver media pump that all the time. See my posts in the Olympic thread, I still think Brodeur or Fleury should've been in net. Remember that Loserongo had 2 games to win the cup and completely blew it. The guy doesn't have a SC ring and at the most should be the 3rd stringer. Just to let you know cam_wmh, Craig Anderson is an american from suburban Chicago who will probably start for team USA.

[19Yzerman19]

^Nothing in that post is correct. Marc-Andre Fleury is a pretty mediocre goalie who shouldn't even be on the team, Brodeur is simply inconsistent at this stage of his career, and Jonathan Quick will be starting for team USA.

[foshizzle11]

Ya, I agree with 19Yzerman19. No way Fleury is really that elite. He is medicocre playing for a good team. Is Miller not in the conversation anymore for team USA?

[cDnStealth]

Originally Posted by foshizzle11

Ya, I agree with 19Yzerman19. No way Fleury is really that elite. He is medicocre playing for a good team. Is Miller not in the conversation anymore for team USA?

Back in 2010 I was fully on board with Fleury being in net over the other two. After watching the playoffs this year it's pretty clear that Fleury may be one of the most over-rated goalies in the league. Probably would have been blown out with him in net.

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by cDnStealth

Back in 2010 I was fully on board with Fleury being in net over the other two. After watching the playoffs this year it's pretty clear that Fleury may be one of the most over-rated goalies in the league. Probably would have been blown out with him in net.

If Fleury somehow magically ends up playing for Team Canada, I can guarantee that we are no longer in medal contention. His last good international showing was in 2003 when he was named the tournament MVP. And other then his cup run, nothing looks good on his resume in any big game situation.

It'll be a sad state for Canadian goaltending if MAF gets playing time at the Olympics.

[Tsawwassen]

Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19

^Nothing in that post is correct. Marc-Andre Fleury is a pretty mediocre goalie who shouldn't even be on the team, Brodeur is simply inconsistent at this stage of his career, and Jonathan Quick will be starting for team USA.

What are you talking about? You're not correct, there are things in my post that are right. The Canucks were up 3-2 against Boston and Loserongo lost the next 2 games and Luongo hasn't won a cup. The other names mentioned have won the cup and Craig Anderson is a US citizen, these are facts. For Fleury and Brodeur, I was talking about them in 2010. I don't think they will be on Team Canada in Sochi. Now, I didn't explain properly about Anderson. I meant that he would be "starting" in at least a game during the Olympics. I didn't mean that he'd be "starting" as the #1 goalie. I agree that Quick who has won the cup will probably be the #1 goalie for team USA.

[Tsawwassen]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

If Fleury somehow magically ends up playing for Team Canada, I can guarantee that we are no longer in medal contention. His last good international showing was in 2003 when he was named the tournament MVP. And other then his cup run, nothing looks good on his resume in any big game situation.

It'll be a sad state for Canadian goaltending if MAF gets playing time at the Olympics.

Okay, Fleury didn't look good in the playoffs as he had a nuclear meltdown. He has been in 2 cup runs, 2008 where he lost in 6 games and in 2009 where he won and in game 7. Luongo has only been in 1 run and couldn't win game 7. Luongo in the upcoming Olympics is also bad news.

[Tsawwassen]

Originally Posted by foshizzle11

Ya, I agree with 19Yzerman19. No way Fleury is really that elite. He is medicocre playing for a good team. Is Miller not in the conversation anymore for team USA?

The same can be said for Luongo at the 2010 Olympics. He was okay playing for a strong Team Canada. I don't think Miller will be on team USA, he didn't have a good season and his attitude was from another planet.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by Meers

Well, it's just been announced that Luongo will be representing the B.C. Lottery Corp. again at the upcoming World Series of Poker. Not exactly the mark of a man about to burn his bridges with the West Coast.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/h...952/story.html

He does that because he loves poker.

And a break with Canucks is not equal to making the West Coast angry.

[killer_carlson]

It should be mandated to local media of the western conference to plague luongo, gillis and tortorella with ongoing questions all season about whether the drama has ended.

I have no doubt it will adversely affect his play