Skip to My Bobby Lou
June 26th, 2009 by Jason ChenFear not Canucks fans, despite the uncertainty of the Canucks’ future, Roberto Luongo (Oh Captain! My Captain!) looks like he’s going to stay after all.
There was a lot of speculation this summer over Luongo’s plans next summer when he is going to be the most sought after free agent, but it looks like the big payday is going to be some other fortunate individual… but not so fast. Luongo’s new asking price is in the neighbourhood of $8m per year, making him the highest paid goalie in the league, over at least five years. Luongo is looking to be compensated accordingly to his status as the best (arguably) goalie in the league. With the new deal, he would be out-earning the next highest paid goalie (Henrik Lundqvist) by $1.125m. Now in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a huge difference, but $1.125m can also buy you a great third-liner, say, a Max Talbot ($1.05m). It’s even more confounding when Luongo’s agent, Gilles Lupien, wants to make sure the Canucks have cap space to ice a decent team. And how, exactly, Mr. Lupien, will the Canucks do that if they have $8m locked in Luongo? Assuming the Sedins are resigned at their current asking price, that’s already close to $20m locked up in three players. Tack on Alex Burrows and Alex Edler (both re-signed past the 2010-11 season), that’s roughly $25m. A similar amount to that will be required to fill out the rest of the roster which includes at least nine more forwards, five more defensemen, and one backup. That’s assuming the cap doesn’t fall.
I think the price is a little on the high side, and even if Luongo takes another 500k less, it actually makes the cap much more bearable. Hell, even if he took $7m he’d still be the highest paid goalie in the league. If he takes $7m, that would set the benchmark for all future elite goalies, and I don’t think it’s outrageous to suggest that the other 28 GMs and two “cowboys” are hoping Gillis can knock down that number a little bit.
There are also reports that if Luongo agrees to an extension (he can’t officially do so until July 1, same with Kesler), then Cory Schneider is on the block (again). Gillis has made it known that he would like to add some more picks and Schneider can fetch at least a late second rounder. Schneider didn’t improve his stock any when he was called up for a brief period, but he was dynamite in the AHL this year and lead the Moose to the Calder Cup final. If Schneider is moved (there seems to be a lot of rumours about player movement tonight, I’m excited), then it’s likely that Burnaby native Jason LaBarbera will return to back-up Luongo. San Jose is reportedly looking for some goaltending help, although I imagine their need isn’t immediate considering that they still have Evgeni Nabokov, but it’s rumoured that Ryane Clowe is on the block. I’m intrigued - a big winger who can skate and put the puck in the net. I like his game. Why not offer Schneider and a pick for Clowe? I can’t see Pyatt coming back and Clowe is a big, big step up.
Posted in Canucks
3 Responses to “Skip to My Bobby Lou”
By Ted Bama on Jun 26, 2009
Ok…I didn’t hear the actual interview with Luongo’s agent…I just saw the TSN story and it seems more like speculation that they want $8 mill a year…all the agent said is that they were looking for a “bit of a raise”. That could mean $7 mill a year ($250,000 raise) or it could mean a frontloaded deal with cheaper years tacked on to the back end.
Also, Schneider is worth far more than a late second rounder. Other than Rask, he is probably the best goalie prospect not currently in the NHL.
On another note, the Flyers are out on JayBO and seemingly they were the Nucks biggest competitor for him…many people have also reported that he wants to come out West and, to me, Vancouver is by far the front runner. The Flames have no money and would have to move Phaneuf to do it (seems like a lot of work to get another number 1 dman, though Phaneuf seems like a bonehead). The Oilers have a ton of money invested in mediocre dmen…they’d have to, at the least, move someone like Gilbert.
Reports have also suggested the Nucks may be done with the Sedins…so, $12-13 million for JayBo and Gaborik or the Sedins? By far, the first option seems better. I like the direction this team seems to be headed in…
By Jason Chen on Jun 27, 2009
I said in one of the forums that the $8m figure is probably a starting point, although all things considered Luongo does deserve to be the highest paid goalie in the NHL. It’s also a five year deal, so I imagine it’s not going to be front-loaded, as those contracts usually work only with 7+ deals, and Luongo is 30 already…
Schneider is worth AT LEAST a late second rounder. Not many teams are looking for long-term solutions in net - the teams that are looking for goaltending help are looking for starters. I don’t think there’s much of a market for Schneider. At the moment.
By is new jerssey a community property state on Jul 9, 2009
Is it new jerssey a community property state?any ideas?