LUONGO TO THE OILERS?
Jason Gregor
October 23 2012 04:07PM
Would Roberto Luongo play for the Oilers? Would the Oilers trade for him? Would you want him between the pipes whenver this ridiculous lockout ends?
Canucks beat reporter Jason Botchford tweeted a few days ago that the Oilers are one of three or four teams in the mix. Before you jump off the deep end and suggest this is bunk, keep in mind Botchford was the guy who had Shane Doan down to two teams, Vancouver and Phoenix, and after Doan signed in Phoenix he admitted that the Canucks were #2 on his list.
The question is should the Oilers trade for him?
Luongo has ten years left on his deal at a $5,333,333 cap hit. He most likely will not play the final three years of his deal which totals $3.6 million. So the Oilers would have him for seven, maybe eight years.
Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle and Luongo would equate to $17.33 million of the cap next year. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will most likely be in the same pay scale as Eberle in Hall in 2014/2015.
For argument sakes in three years it might be feasible to see Hall, Eberle, RNH, Luongo and Yakupov totalling around $28-30 million in cap space. The salary cap could be anywhere from $60-80 million at that point. The Oilers will need to have at least one $5 million D-man, if they plan to be competitive so that puts them around $33-$35 million.
For some, the bigger question might be can Luongo play?
I say he can.
In 727 games he has 339 wins, a .919 SV% and 2.52 GAA. In the playoffs he's posted a .916SV% and 2.53 GAA.
Without a doubt he is a top-ten goalie in the league, and while some feel his play in the Stanley Cup finals proved he's mentally fragile I think that might be tad misleading.
Would the Oilers be better served to deal for Luongo or see if Devan Dubnyk can develop into a proven starter? Luongo has proven he can do it, and while Dubnyk has done it for short stints he hasn't done it for an entire NHL season. The Oilers would be better right away, but the tough question is whether they'd be better long-term?
WIll Dubnyk continue to develop, and is he ready to start 55-60 games? I find trying to project a goalie's future is much more difficult than a D-man or forward, and that is the challenge they face, if they even have any interest in Luongo.
I'd say thanks, but no thanks because I believe the Oilers are still three or four years away from being a consistent contender, and when they reach that level they will need a goalie who isn't 36 years of age.
Would you want the Oilers to go after Luongo?
**If it did ever happen, which I think is slim, if any Oiler fans chanted LOUUUUUUU on a routine shot they should be banned from Rexall. You can do it on a great save, but not routine ones.**
RECENTLY BY JASON GREGOR
The prospect of bringing in Luongo is no different from how it looked when Khabby was brought in- only we now have the wisdom of experience to see how it has played out with him... an aging elite goalie. A "has been". Sure he COULD have games like he once played, but how many games did we suffer through as they time after time played Khabby when we all just desperately wanted to see either of the DD's play? Letting Dubnyk grow with this core and blossom into a bona-fide #1 is the way to go. Bring in the aging "has been" on a waiver or trade deadline throw away to back him (Dubnyk) up and stop wasting time looking for other teams' former starters. We have a starter. Dubey! Dubey! Dubey!
I still want to see how DD can do as a #1 over the next couple years, in all honesty.
Why would the Oilers want to pursue him in the first place? Luongo is still a decent tender, but at that cap hit and age it is not worth it unless it means offloading the contracts of Kahbi and Horcoff the other way.
Besides, Gillis is desperate to make a deal so why offer him anything much? I would rather see the Nucks stuck with both him and Schneider for another season or two - the dressing dynamic would be fun to watch from a distance. LOL
Live in Van - seen lots of LOUUUUU. It would be a bad deal - he's a stud...up until xmas. If he's that good why is Gillis going with Schneider.
Was he good in the gold medal game sure, but he nearly blew the game too. Throughout the Olympics it looked like the team was winning in spite of their goalie.
Been at least 5 playoff series since I can recall him outplaying the other goalie. And his contract is an albatross to boot
It really depends on cost.
Right now, Roberto Luongo is a better goalie than any the Oilers have (with all due respect to Devan Dubnyk). The NHL's provision that his cap hit reverts back to Vancouver if he retires minimizes the risk.
Luongo's performance in both the cup finals and olympics are indicative of the kind of goalie he is. He squandered the lead with less then 20 seconds left in the gold medal game and if it weren't for his high powered team he was on the verge of collapse. In the cup finals with the Bruins he showed he doesn't have what it takes to bring it home when need be. I would stay far away from him unless the Canucks are willing to take back a crappy contract in return.
I think were better off developing Bunz and Roy and giving Dubnyk some serious playing time this year and hoping he runs with it. Luongo and his 334 year multibillion dollar contract can go to Florida where there aren't any expectations.
No thanks. I feel like winning a Cup this decade, please. (As if the Canuckleheads would ever trade him to us anyway.)
For the love of god, just say no.
no way vancouver trades him to edmonton. more importantly, no way luongo waives his no trade clause to go to edmonton.
For the love of Mike, please, NOOOOO. It's not the Luongo wouldn't be a massive upgrade between the pipes for quite a few years, but you've gotta think that Van's asking price would be 2 one of the Fab 5, one of the one's bubbling under (Paajarvi most likely, given the Swedish connection), and a first. I don't think they trade a premier goalie (maybe not championship caliber, but still elite) to a division rival for less than that, and so far as this long-suffering Oiler fan is, it ain't worth it.
@Reg Dunlop. You might want to reread my statement again. I said that although Luongo would be an upgrade between the pipes (and yes, I still believe he's an elite goalie in the NHL, just not one to win you a championship), Van's likely asking price from a division (one of the Fab 5, plus someone like Paajarvi and a 1st rounder) is NOT worth it. I would be MASSIVLEY pissed if after 3 years of intense suckiness we traded away one of the key building blocks of the next decade for Luongo.
If the Oilers trade for Luongo I'll puke all over myself and burn my Oilers jersey
I'd rather cheer for the Flames than a Luigi backed team. Why take on one of the worst contracts in the league when we're almost to the end of our own?
+1 to what "Oilanderp" said.
Only differences being, I have to deal with casucks fans in Vancouver, and I don't see his contract being quite as much of a deal breaker, though it without a doubt reduces his value.
Assuming the eventual CBA deal is similar to what the NHL recently proposed (a big assumption), a 5mil cap hit for the next 4-6 years, where it is not unreasonable for him to continue to perform well (many goalies in the past decade have had some great years in their mid-thirties), and upon retirement dump the cap hit onto the casucks, doesn't make his contract look like a complete non-starter to me.
By no means do I think he is a good fit in edmonton, for many reasons (div rival, cost to acquire, DD's current contract). However those stating that canada won the gold despite him, and he is worth no more than a waiver wire pickup, are just as bad as the casuck fans that pin their finals loss to boston on him.
The way he gets treated in Vancouver, I would bet $$ that had Miller and Luongos's performances in the final been swapped, fans would have blamed the loss on Luongo due to his "terrible OT goal", and would have completely forgotten about how they even made it to OT.
Excellent call,toss in Whitney to dump salary and I am happy.
We would definately be a wildcard playoff team with all our top end skill and we would be dangerous immediatly.
I don't think there are any circumstances where this would be a good deal for the Oilers.
True, Luongo is better than anyone in the Oilers' organization, but one only has to point at the term of his deal to realize that there is no way an Oilers GM would agree to this under any circumstances, unless he was a) INSANE, or b) wanted to be fired AND sabotage the franchise at the same time.
Luongo for 3-4 years? Sure. Potentially 10 years? Not a frigging chance. I honestly wouldn't send Horcoff's contract back for Luongo.
F#$K LUONGO- BRING BACK BIG BAD STEVE "SMACKER33" MACINTYRE!!!!! Then trade for BIG BAD JOHN 'I wuz born in Edmonton" SCOTT then watch the OILERS WIN THE CUP!!!!!!! MOma agrees with me!!!!!
If one is say, Bi-polar, does that mean we get to vote twice on this topic?
Epic rant!Well done!!God put you in Nucklehead land for a reason you obviously have broad shoulders.Vent more--it works.