LUONGO TO THE OILERS?

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.**