Tim Thomas or Roberto Luongo & all goalie trade discussion

[13elieve]

Honestly I dont think the majority of Leafs fans realize how good Luongo really is. HE IS A HOT AND COLD GOALIE, but when he is on his game which he is a majority of the time he is incredibly good, nearly unbeatable.

Nobody seems to realize this because when Luongo fails, he really fails. Like 6/7 goals. This becomes well known information and therefore Luongo is deemed as mediocre.

If Luongo plays to his potential, a pace at what he is very capable of playing, he will vault the Leafs into a comfortable playoff spot.

In 2006/07 the Canucks played a defense first system, it made sense considering their offense was non existent. This is how I see the leafs at this time, their defense is good last time I checked, and in this condition Luongo THRIVES.

And by thriving I don't just mean regular season, he WAS the canucks in the post season as well. 70+ shots in the Dallas game, honestly it's amazing how much of a short memory people have.

He has had 3 bad series, Chicago 2x, and some games of the boston series, IN WHICH HE HAD 2 SHUTOUTS. He played insane in the Dallas, Anaheim series.

The rest were when the Canucks adopted a run and gun system and relied on Luongo to hold the back end down. Most people don't realize that Luongo was our defense as well as the goaltender.

PS the people that think the Canucks defense is top 5. Its not, its masked by Luongo and Schneider.

Also one more concern people seem to have with Luongo is that he is being replaced by Schneider. The thing is Luongo faces too much scrutiny in Vancouver and with a young goalie who is almost hitting his peak, it would be best for Luongo to move on.

Luongo has been top 3 in vezina 3 times.
He is a Hart trophy finalist and lester B pearson.
He is easily top 3 goalie since the lockout, and if you watched the canucks the first year he was here you would agree.

Leafs fan should be incredibly excited if Luongo makes it to Toronto. Remember the Canucks are not trading Luongo because he is a mediocre goalie but because when you have two elite goalies, standards dictate that one must leave.

EDIT: ALSO REMEMBER THE PEOPLE THAT SAY THAT LUONGO FAILS IN THE PLAYOFFS DONT REALIZE THAT THE CANUCKS HAVE LOST TO THE STANLEY CUP CHAMPS 4 TIMES IN THE PAST 6 years. THOSE TEAMS WERE NO SCRUBS. THE LAST THREE TIMES WERE THE STANLEY CUP WINNERS.

Also ask yourself this, Gardinier alone can not get the Leafs into the playoffs, and I'm willing to bet that even the most bitter leafs fan would agree that Luongo has a much higher chance of vaulting the Leafs into the playoffs.

 

[Bedards Dad]

Honestly I dont think the majority of Leafs fans realize how good Luongo really is. HE IS A HOT AND COLD GOALIE, but when he is on his game which he is a majority of the time he is incredibly good, nearly unbeatable.

Nobody seems to realize this because when Luongo fails, he really fails. Like 6/7 goals. This becomes well known information and therefore Luongo is deemed as mediocre.

If Luongo plays to his potential, a pace at what he is very capable of playing, he will vault the Leafs into a comfortable playoff spot.

In 2006/07 the Canucks played a defense first system, it made sense considering their offense was non existent. This is how I see the leafs at this time, their defense is good last time I checked, and in this condition Luongo THRIVES.

And by thriving I don't just mean regular season, he WAS the canucks in the post season as well. 70+ shots in the Dallas game, honestly it's amazing how much of a short memory people have.

He has had 3 bad series, Chicago 2x, and some games of the boston series, IN WHICH HE HAD 2 SHUTOUTS. He played insane in the Dallas, Anaheim series.

The rest were when the Canucks adopted a run and gun system and relied on Luongo to hold the back end down. Most people don't realize that Luongo was our defense as well as the goaltender.

PS the people that think the Canucks defense is top 5. Its not, its masked by Luongo and Schneider.

Also one more concern people seem to have with Luongo is that he is being replaced by Schneider. The thing is Luongo faces too much scrutiny in Vancouver and with a young goalie who is almost hitting his peak, it would be best for Luongo to move on.

Honestly Luongo has been top 3 in vezina 3 times.
He is a Hart trophy finalist and lester B pearson.
He is easily top 3 goalie since the lockout, and if you watched the canucks the first year he was here you would agree.

Leafs fan should be incredibly excited if Luongo makes it to Toronto. Remember the Canucks are not trading Luongo because he is a mediocre goalie but because when you have two elite goalies, standards dictate that one must leave.

I fully agree with all or this, but do not want us to over pay with Gardiner or Rielly. Don't even really want to lose Kadri.

 

[Bravid Nonahan]

Kadri is my favourite Leaf and I will puke if he is traded without getting a fair shot.

You just know he'll light it up on the Canucks.

 

[jaateloauto]

Honestly I dont think the majority of Leafs fans realize how good Luongo really is. HE IS A HOT AND COLD GOALIE, but when he is on his game which he is a majority of the time he is incredibly good, nearly unbeatable.

He would easily carry Leafs to the playoffs. However once in the playoffs he really hasn't been very dependable.

It's not really a long term solution either. He's getting old and has an awful contract.

Tim Thomas I would never ever want to see in a Leaf uniform because of his anti-gay statements in the Chick-fil-A disaster.

 

[Pierre Gotye]

Is Luo just another goaltending band-aid?

He's 33. His contract is over when he's 43. Yikes!

I believe at most he has 5 years of hockey left in him at best and that's a liberal estimate.

With the Leafs he could end up really struggling. Or continue his injury woes.

If the Leafs are smart and they do make the Luo trade they force the Canucks to eat 15% of his contract. Which they can under the new CBA.

I believe he'll require an eventual buyout, unless he retires early.

At any rate, I'm not convinced Luo is the answer. He'll be under a ton of pressure here to perform and get into the playoffs. If he falters a handful of games, the fans and media here will eat him up quick.

Maybe Burke is right in the end. He's not the solution. At most he'll buy time to develop other goaltenders. At worst he'll handcuff the franchise.

 

[Yosho]

He's definitely a step up, and I wouldn't be opposed to acquiring him.

The sticking point, for me, is what Gillis wants in return.

 

[Steve]

He's definitely a step up, and I wouldn't be opposed to acquiring him.

The sticking point, for me, is what Gillis wants in return.

This guy is a legit stud. He was top 5 in the league till he lost game 7 of the cup final, then fans turned on him.

 

[JAMmer124]

Luongo here gives us the goalie we have been yearning for since pre-lockout Belfour.

The problem is the cost. If Gillis wants anything around Gardiner(or similar guys from other interested teams), he'll be on the hook for that contract for awhile.

 

[613Leafer]

He's a step above a band-aid. Band-aid implies only ~1-2 years IMO.

BUT, he's 34 in 3 months. His "window" of being a #1 Goalie doesn't align well with this teams projected competitive level. Maybe the team in front of whatever goalie we have won't be ready to compete for a SC for another ~3 years, at which point Luongo will be just about turning 37.

Which sounds great! At 37, Luongo will still likely be playing at a high level, which means we could be legitimate SC contenders! But! His "window" at that point would then be closing and he would at that point be a "band-aid" solution. We would at best have ~2 years at which we could be contenders, among 6-8 other teams, and I think at best we'd be peripheral contenders since we wouldn't (presumably) have anybody on the roster of Norris/Vezina/Selke/Art Ross/Hart calibre or even contenders for those awards.

Better to just see what we have in Reimer/Scrivens, sell at the deadline, and draft a top top forward prospect this summer. Trading for Luongo makes sense IMO only if your team is already a contender, because then he can give you a ~4-5 year window at which your team can be a contender.

 

[SprDaVE]

He's only a band-aid if he's not here long-term.

I think he can be more than that, it'll just depend if the rest of the team can develop around him.

Hard to believe he couldn't keep up his consistent goaltending like he has ever since he has been playing in Florida for at least half a decade. Whether he can have the supporting cast to go with his play is another question.

Maybe that's all the Leafs need to be a playoff contender; an actual consistent goaltender.

We'll never know until he's here, or not I guess.

 

[ForSpareParts*]

No.
He.
Is.
Not.

 

[613Leafer]

He's only a band-aid if he's not here long-term.

I think he can be more than that, it'll just depend if the rest of the team can develop around him.

Hard to believe he couldn't keep up his consistent goaltending like he has ever since he has been playing in Florida for at least half a decade. Whether he can have the supporting cast to go with his play is another question.

Maybe that's all the Leafs need to be a playoff contender; an actual consistent goaltender.

We'll never know until he's here, or not I guess.

That shouldn't be the goal of this team. It should be to become Stanley Cup Contenders. Trading youth just so that we can be a "playoff contender" is pretty silly.

Especially since due to the age of the player we traded for, it then puts pressure on us to improve even more quickly, one of the only ways of doing so would be to trade even more youth. I think trading for Luongo could create a pretty slippery slope. A slope that IMO would inevitably end up with us trading even more of our picks/prospects in the next few years, but never truly becoming good enough to contend for the SC, and then watching it fall apart as Luo gets too old and others leave via free agency and such.

 

[bunjay]

Luongo should not get a return like Gardiner. Gardiner is our future star defenseman, there is really no doubt left how good he is. Luongo is a great goalie but that contract, and the fact that the canucks have to move him, puts Gillis in a position of terrible weakness.

 

[Hero]

Lu, depeneds on price though.

 

[darrylsittler27]

The problem with political correctness.

He would easily carry Leafs to the playoffs. However once in the playoffs he really hasn't been very dependable.

It's not really a long term solution either. He's getting old and has an awful contract.

Tim Thomas I would never ever want to see in a Leaf uniform because of his anti-gay statements in the Chick-fil-A disaster.

One has to accept others beliefs.It isn't a one way street.Im not sure what he said,but we are bringing him in for his goaltending,nothing else.A pro gay GM was turfed,so Thomas' beliefs are not important just like Burke's nonsense is no longer to be dwelled on.The Fuher has been overthrown and everyone one is free to think what they want again.Thomas would make a nice 1 to 2 year fill gap on the cheap.It is his ability to play hockey that matters,nothing else.

P.S It looks like Burke got the re-education lol.

 

[Pierre Gotye]

Flyers in on Luongo

Seems Gillis is trying to maximize value in the Luongo trade. At any rate, I don't see how this is as feasible for the Flyers.

How in the world do they get rid of Bryzgalovs contract? I couldn't believe the Canucks would want him back, and who would they offer in return?

 

[Kingstonian84*]

Easy answer: Amnesty buyout, the flyers buy out Bryz's ugly contract and that gives them enough wiggle room to acquire Luongo.

 

[charliolemieux]

Easy answer: Amnesty buyout, the flyers buy out Bryz's ugly contract and that gives them enough wiggle room to acquire Luongo.

OLd Billionaire owner might want to go for it.

Could be perfect situation.

 

[Kingstonian84*]

OLd Billionaire owner might want to go for it.

Could be perfect situation.

Two questions remain: 1. Does Luongo want to go to the Flyers? 2. If yes, are the flyers prepared to meet the asking price?

 

[robdicks]

Two questions remain: 1. Does Luongo want to go to the Flyers? 2. If yes, are the flyers prepared to meet the asking price?

I would assume that if Luongo would waive for Toronto, or Florida, he would probably be willing to waive for Philly.

I would say based on the bold moves that Holmgren has made in the last few years (Carter/Richards, Bryz, Pronger, Weber, etc), he certainly isn't afraid to overpay to get his guy. If he thinks Luongo is the answer to Philadelphia's long-standing goaltending problem, I don't doubt that Holmgren has what it takes to get the deal done.

The only question is if Philly is actually in on Lu. Didn't this rumour start from Lu's agent?