Roberto Luongo being benched for the Heritage Classic

[Horse McHindu]

There is a segment of Canucks posters here who felt that Lack had outplayed Luongo and was the better goaltender. I suppose Torts agreed.

There is also a segment of Canuck fans that feel that Luongo should have been traded shortly after the January 7th 2012 game when the Canucks defeated Boston in their “revenge” game and where Schneider unofficially took over the #1 position. If the Canucks had been proactive and had traded Luongo at the deadline that year, we could have had a significant piece up front or on D that could have helped us. Instead - management and coaching didn’t adjust and kept Lou as the #1........until Game 3 of the post-season.

Gillis’ asking price for Luongo at that time was very unrealistic (given Luongo’s perception around the league and value after the 2011 finals).

 

[Havre]

If that was such a big deal for Luongo then so be it. If I had been the GM and I felt I had to ask the coach to play a certain player because of his ego then I would have traded that player.

Maybe because I don't live in Vancouver I don't feel the same "hatred" against Tortorella as clearly many Canucks fans do. Funnily enough I like both Luongo and Tortorella. At least they got some personality - and to me they seem like good guys - both of them.

 

[Diversification]

"Error #1": do you also hate the signing of Hamhuis, Malholtra, and the addition of Higgins and Laperier at the deadline? Because without a "creative yet legal-at-the-time contract", Luongo would've carried a MUCH higher cap hit, handcuffing Gillis from acquiring those players.
"Error #2": nobody will give up anything of value for an unproven backup (Schneider). It was AFTER Schneider got back to back seasons of 30 games start that you can expect some value. Sure you can dump him earlier for a 2nd rounder, but why? Is that good for the team?
"Error #3": there was no good offers, best was the Leafs 2x 2nd rounders if I remember correctly. Should Gillis just accept whatever trash offer and just take the loss? If he did, we wouldn't have a legit #1 in Markstrom right now.
Hindsight is 20/20 but I still think, if the goal was to compete for the cup during the Sedins' peak, that Luongo contract was a necessity.

In my mind, they're all related. Gillis' job was to manage uncertainty, but before it was too late, make an executive decision. And the decision was binary: Luongo or Schneider? Dithering was what lead to all of the headaches that followed. You can argue that he unwound things as skillfully as he could, but it's not entirely clear whether the prolonged fashion and the collateral fall out was worth the return.

 

[PG Canuck]

It was blown out of proportion then and still is now. Luongo would've been run out of town eventually anyways, so what does it matter.

 

[LuckyDay]

It was blown out of proportion then and still is now. Luongo would've been run out of town eventually anyways, so what does it matter.

Agreed, listen to us now, throwing everyone under the bus as usual. There was no question that was it for Lu. Winning that game meant more than appearances at the time for Torts and management.

The rise of Schneider was one part of the reason that put us in the finals in 2011. It forced management to reduce the amount of games Lu played that season instead of letting Lu decide when he played or not. Instead of abusing him like a developer at EA, they should have kept the reigns on him and let that hunger into the playoffs every year. If they had more control on Lu they could have recognized when he overplayed earlier instead of waiting for the inevitable collapse after too many consecutive games.

Then after the great run they went and abused them by making the two compete for the #1 job like every other team in the league these days instead of playing them as a tandem. When they finally decided on who to keep, injuries did that debacle in. At that point Lu was done.

With a 12 year contract it should have always been Lu every year. That's what those kind of contracts are supposed to indicate.

Does anyone remember what the supposed offer from Edmonton for Schneider was? It was supposed to be for a lot.

 

[sandwichbird2023]

Does anyone remember what the supposed offer from Edmonton for Schneider was? It was supposed to be for a lot.

According to this article, the ask from Vancouver is the 7th overall pick (Nurse), a 2nd and a good young player. Edmonton declined. Not sure what they offered though.

In my mind, they're all related. Gillis' job was to manage uncertainty, but before it was too late, make an executive decision. And the decision was binary: Luongo or Schneider? Dithering was what lead to all of the headaches that followed. You can argue that he unwound things as skillfully as he could, but it's not entirely clear whether the prolonged fashion and the collateral fall out was worth the return.

It was necessary to keep Schneider as a backup during the peak years to keep Luongo's workload at a reasonable level, so he doesn't get burnt out, or worse injured, from overplaying. Nobody could've foresee the recapture penalty which created this whole mess.

 

[LuckyDay]

It was necessary to keep Schneider as a backup during the peak years to keep Luongo's workload at a reasonable level, so he doesn't get burnt out, or worse injured, from overplaying. Nobody could've foresee the recapture penalty which created this whole mess.

As I pointed out, this is what they should have done but they didn't. The era of the tandem is long since dead if it ever actually existed, probably because they pay #1 goalies so much that they pigeonhole the backup position. Your backup today is only a backup. Making them compete is one method but it shouldn't be the only one which is what has happened in today's NHL.

 

[LuckyDay]

According to this article, the ask from Vancouver is the 7th overall pick (Nurse), a 2nd and a good young player. Edmonton declined. Not sure what they offered though.

Interesting. I'm further reading that Edmonton was high on Dubnyck so they felt they could do without. Of course, defense and goaltending, especially then, was a huge problem for Edmonton.

At 7 or 9 I'm also reading we would have taken Bo regardless. Considering how much Cory has flopped in NJ already the opinion on his skill is going the way of Cloutier.

 

[tyhee]

... Considering how much Cory has flopped in NJ already the opinion on his skill is going the way of Cloutier.

The trade didn't work out well for NJ, but it wasn't because Schneider was a flop, though they undoubtedly assumed he would last longer than he did. For three seasons following the trade, Schneider was superb for the Devils. In the first season there he split time with Brodeur but clearly won the starting job with his excellent play which was supported by his 1.97 GAA and .921 save percentage. The following two seasons as a starter he was among the top 5 or 6 goalies in the league and the Devils had reason to think at that time they'd made a good trade.

After the 2015-16 season his game fell off a cliff. The problem for the Devils was that they wasted the three superb seasons they got out of Schneider by not being good enough that having him helped them compete for anything (or indeed, even make the playoffs.)

Imo it was poor for the Devils in 2013 to not recognize their position, resulting in a fading team trading a first round pick for a player in his prime years to try to win immediately when the amount by which they would improve didn't make them a good team. Lamoriello is highly regarded and rightfully so, but this has to be considered a mistake.

 

[digger18]

I think the bigger mistake at the time was dealing Schneider before Luongo to begin with....in hindsight however, it did work out with Horvat coming to town, and Corey running into injury issues.

 

[Hit the post]

The trade didn't work out well for NJ, but it wasn't because Schneider was a flop, though they undoubtedly assumed he would last longer than he did. For three seasons following the trade, Schneider was superb for the Devils. In the first season there he split time with Brodeur but clearly won the starting job with his excellent play which was supported by his 1.97 GAA and .921 save percentage. The following two seasons as a starter he was among the top 5 or 6 goalies in the league and the Devils had reason to think at that time they'd made a good trade.

After the 2015-16 season his game fell off a cliff. The problem for the Devils was that they wasted the three superb seasons they got out of Schneider by not being good enough that having him helped them compete for anything (or indeed, even make the playoffs.)

Imo it was poor for the Devils in 2013 to not recognize their position, resulting in a fading team trading a first round pick for a player in his prime years to try to win immediately when the amount by which they would improve didn't make them a good team. Lamoriello is highly regarded and rightfully so, but this has to be considered a mistake.

Injuries; not much you can do about it. Not like they had the Canucks medical staff to deal with.

 

[Zippgunn]

They cared more about their egomanaical coach than their franchise goaltender because they are egomaniacs themselves.

You mean "They cared more about their egomanaical coach than their egomaniacal goaltender because they are egomaniacs themselves"...

 

[nergish]

I can’t believe something as trivial as an “outdoor” game inside a closed stadium at BC Place has so much controversy over it still.

Torts ego and Luongo’s egos were on full display there.

I was at that game. It was terrible, boring and lacked any emotion or intensity.

My thoughts exactly.
What did Lu want, a photograph of himself playing outdoors to hang up in his Man-Cave?
I would think Eddie Lack is a lot more attached to that memory than Lu ever could be... it's probably the highlight of his brief career.