The Olympic year is gonna be the year for Vancouver.

GO CANUCKS GO!!!

too early.

Could be a completely diffrent team in the fall or it could be status qou(minus Ohlund). I dont know what to think right now with talk that the Sedins are gone and lou might not be that far behind. I would be for a Lou trade if he isnt intrested in extending this Summer. If Lou does reup Schneider could be a good chip to play this summer. Grabner is pretty much a shoe in for this team in the Fall. Hodgson is an intresting story too. He has to either stick with team or go back to junior. He would have to be a 3rd line player with the Nucks to stick imo or his development would be stunted.

Lets start the Sundin lunacy already...

Will he sign?
Will he retire?

I really think he should go back to Toronto. Probally wont happen as Burke isnt in to nostalgia(one of his famous qoutes in Vancouver even though he did bring back Linden). I perfer Kesler at centre than on the wing and there is probally no room for Sundin with Hodgson on the rise. If the nucks loose the Sedins than maybe at a reduced rate over last years salary. If Sundin is there top centre next year were in trouble.

I think I would stop watching hockey if the Canucks traded Luongo this upcoming season.

Just saw a great trade thread at HFBoards and wanted to see what you guys thought. I love the HFBoards if only for fans trade proposals.

Van gets:
Nick Kronwall
Valteri Filpulla
Ville Leino
Jonathon Ericsson


Det gets:
Luongo

Does that work cap-wise for Detroit?

Not even close. Plus why give up 4 talented young players for a guy with one year left on his contract?

HF Boards trades are awesome.

==============

News report claiming the Sedins want 12 years each at 63 million... That's a cap hit of 5.25 million per year, which is pretty reasonable right now. Will it be reasonable in the last 4 years of the deal, though?

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=282198

I think it will be a bit of an overpayment in the final few years but the cap will be a lot higher by then. Plus they might retire with a couple of years left on the contract when they are close to 40 and have the money come off the cap anyways.

Just saw an interview from the NHL awards show red carpet with Lou(I cant link it but its on TSN.COM under videos under the title Watch and wait). He deffinatly sounds upbeat and is talking about next year with the Canucks with some enthusiasm which I take as a very good sign. Lou is a great poker player in the fact that he is a very hard man to get a read on in interviews but he genuinely seems to be excited about the future as a Canuck and said a couple times that the Canucks are a organization that wants to win. Sign Lou and package Schneider up to move up to pick Evander Kane imo.

Saw lou playing poker at the edgewater. Gota keep him

Recently? Gotta be a good sign if he was in Vancouver a month after being eliminated.

WTF is up with this insane contracts in hockey?! I'm not sure what's driving NHL contracts beyond the normal definition of long contracts which used to mean 4-5 years. 12 years is longer than some franchises even survive.

Assuming hockey and the world economy doesn't completely tank then it's not so bad a deal. Especially if it promotes players like Luo and Mats to hang around (assuming Sundin is willing to take less cash for the greater good...big "if" I know). I'm all for anything that gets this team into the thick of a Stanley Cup. As I said at the beginning of last season, with all the haters saying the Nucks would miss the playoffs, Vancouver isn't far off from building a team to compete with the big teams in the NHL.

Doing some quick cap math if the Canucks can get the Sedins for around 11 mill they will have around 11 mill left to fill about 8 roster spots(4 dmen and 3 forwards, 1 goalie) leaving about a 2.5 cusion to start the year. If they can fill those spots at an average of 750k they should have room to add a 5-6 million dollar player. Now Gaborik would probally be in that range but I would perfer maybe trading for a player in that range unless Gaborik takes a 1 year deal. I would love to get Shane Doan if he is available. Other players in that price range who would be nice to have and are rumored to be on the block are Ryan Smyth, Ilya Kovalchuck, Rick Nash, Daniel Brier, Scott Hartnell.

Jason Botchford twittered that Gaborik bought a house in Vancouver and Loungo is building a big house in the Nicola valley.

That would be one hell of a commute! especially with the up coming bridge construction!.

Heli-pad ftw

I really hope we don't overpay for Gaborik. No doubt he is a GREAT player. When healthy. But that's way to much of a caveat to ignore. When is he ever healthy?

Hmm Jaybo to Canucks E4. I give this a 5% chance of happening based on Eklunds track record. It was painfully obvious in the Chicago series that the nucks need some puck moving d men instead of the chip it off the boards(or over the boards for a penalty) crew they got right now. Jaybo at 25+ minutes a game will dramatically change the look of there backend in one move.

Hmm, the latest rumour of the hour is Louongo is signed to a 6 year extension and Schneider, Beiksa and the 22nd pick is going out for a top 3 pick. Would be a decent chain of events but probally not true.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=282927

How does he expect to get 8 million per season?

Guess he really doesn't mind if he doesn't have anyone in front of him, heh.

doesnt Luongo deserve a raise for locking himself up for his last truly long term contract?

But it's the timing... the cap could be going down next season. It makes this year's free agent day really interesting in what GMs do. The less shrewd ones could screw themselves easily.

8 million seems ridiculous for a goalie. His 6.75 is already 2nd highest in the league, aside from Lundqvist, who only makes 6.875 per year.

In a world where the cap is only 56 million, and probably going down next season, having 8 million in goal just sucks in my mind, even if he is the best in the league (although he hasn't proven shit to me in the playoffs). A guy for $5 million, or jeez, even Osgood at less than 1.5 have proven to be good enough to get you to a Cup if you have money to spend on the rest of your team.

I heard today its a 10 year deal with 8 million per during the first few and a lower number on the back end bringing the average down close to what he is making now.

That's horrid.

10 years for a guy who is 30. The cap hit should be no more than 5 million, if they're going to do a Ken Holland style deal signing a guy way longer than they expect him to play, and paying him a ton less in the end.

I dont disagree. I think its pretty much true as the agent has confirmed its longer than 5 years. It could very well be a cap hit as low as 5 per if it is a 10 year deal. 8 mill per for the first 5 then 2 a year for the remainder. If it is a 10 year deal and the cap hits is more than what he is making now its a shitty deal.

Can't quite do that, there's rules on how much the salary can decrease by per year, it can't be that big of a jump from one year to the next, but yeah, something like that.

Apparently Lou is at their draft table so its pretty much 99.9% the deal is done. He will be 31.5 when this new deal kicks in. I dont mind paying him 8 mill a year but on a 4 year deal tops.Wasnt Roy 36 when he retired? He had slipped a bit by then too. Havent heard it from a reliable source but I guess Lou had some preasure on him from the union to set a high mark for goalies.

Looks like Gillis likes the small skilled guys. Gonna give him the benefit of the doubt concidering everyone wanted Beach over Hodgson last year. We deffinatly need some D in the system though.

My opinion:

If Luongo wants 8mill a year for 6 years, give it to him. If you can make it 7 for 7, do it! 6 for 9 years? do it again.

All of these are smart. For these reasons:

1) Patrick Roy was 38 when he retired. In his last 3 years, his numbers were GAA: 2.21, 1.98, 2.18 SV%: 913,925,920. Brodeur is 37 years old.
I see nothing in Luongo that makes me think he will wear down before those 2 did. So you will have Luongo at his best for another 5yrs at least.

2) Just because he hasnt won a Cup, doesnt mean he isnt one of the best goalies in the NHL (easy top 5, probably top 3) and therefore one of the most valuable players in the league. To not pay him this much doesnt make sense. Someone should. The argument that because Detroit does well with Osgood doesnt fly with me. He is an anomaly.
If you dont think you need a top flight goalie to be successful in the NHL Playoffs, you havent watched the same playoffs I have the last 20 years. You dont win with the Birons+Toskalas of the world.

3) Last and final reason. I LOVE long term contracts. I said this to my friends who came over tonight, and I will say it here. I think the cap will be closer to 90million, instead of 50 million, in 10-15 years. If you can bank on that, and the fact that the cap will probably be about 70 million at least by the time Luongo is 35, you wont care about one of the most valuable players in the NHL being paid 8million a year.

Also, if a team who is already pretty loaded with talent, but not quite there yet and has cap room could pull it off, getting the Sedins for 5.5mill a year for 12 years is a FANTASTIC idea. Again, reasons above will apply here too.

Vancouver should sign all 3, and be glad they were able to keep them all.

Oh, and sick pick with Schroeder. That could become a real steal in time.

Just to hear your thoughts Arp:

1) If they do give him a big (money wise) long term contract, do you think that'll hinder the team further on down the line if the cap is decimated to a low water mark, before your scenarios in #3?

2) What about a Cam Ward? Do you consider him a top flight goalie? I think you get my point here, a goalie can catch on fire for the playoffs and absolutely carry his team. I don't quite think Fleury is a top flighter, but he's getting there, and was solid. Obviously had his shaky moments, but don't think he was absolutely remarkable. He was what his team needed to be, timely. I think the quality of the goalies in the NHL is remarkable and truly think probably 25-27 of the starters in the league could service their team (depending on who's in front of them obviously) in the playoffs/finals.

good points. let me try to answer coherently!

1) If the cap goes down, yes, the Canucks would be hurt. But wouldnt any of the contending teams be hurt anyway? Can you think of many top teams that wont be against the cap in the next year or two? Some suprises Im sure, but to compete and be a team like Detroit/Pittsburgh/Philly/Boston/Montreal....your gonna find yourself constantly at the fine line of the cap, which you would have to be to keep and stockpile such talent and depth.
But who are you going to get instead of Luongo anyway? Any goalie worth anything, commands around 3/4 million anyway, right? Is that other 4 million your gonna spend on a forward/defence, really gonna be the difference between say a Luongo-rookie combo VS a Biron-Kunitz combo? (just using examples)
What I'm trying to argue is, yes, it could hurt them, your right. But only in the context of if you could really use that money better. I think using it on Luongo is the right call. I consider him amongst the best goalies in the game.
Question: Can you think of a goalie that you would rather have, and if so, where you would spend the saved money? Or is your argument that its best to NOT spend that money at all, and have freedom to add players come March?

2) I dont quite consider Cam Ward a top flight goalie, in that I dont think he is a top 5 goalie in the NHL. Close probably, but not there yet. Can he carry his team? Yeah, I think he has shown he can. But I think what he has shown is that SOMETIMES he can do it. Luongo is a top 3 gtd for me, and if they could get a decent showing in front of him, hed go much further in the playoffs. Yes, he has had bad times, but more good than bad, and he has stolen way more games than he has ever lost on his own. I have faith he will become a playoff warrior type very soon. And while you maybe dont need a Luongo/Brodeur to win a Cup, I also think just because Ovechkin didnt win a Cup or make the finals doesnt mean you dont pay him what he wants either.

I would totally agree with you on your point about gtd depth. I have always believed that even the AHL probably has about 10goalies easily better than some NHL starters, and any of them could go on a sick run in the playoffs. YES, that could all happen. So I agree with you there.
But if I think I have a team that will be in the playoffs for the next decade, and I could take a gtd, one of my first picks would be Luongo.

I think my main point is.....fine, dont pay him 8. Trade him, let him walk, whatever. You got Schneider......pay him 2 mill for a couple of years til he wants 4/5.....but in that time, tell me what your using the money for that makes more sense than the amount paid to Luongo? I dont think paying Demitra/Gaborik is the answer. TO be honest, if they sign Gaborik, and keep Demitra, I dont care who is in net, I dont see a Cup coming anytime soon.

And to add 1 more point to all that rambling above.....I believe the next round of negotiations between league and players will see the cap rise significantly as well.

Gillis meets with the Sedins agent and does not put a counter offer on the table. There gone unless Gillis has an unbelievable read on the situation and thinks they will come back with a lower demand before he starts to counter. Personally I would rather have Sedin/Sedin for a 12 mill cap hit than Gaborik/Hossa for a 14 million dollar cap hit. They did average a point a game in this years playoffs which is a big hurdle for them.

if it was 2 players and 2 first rounders then it'd make sense

Looks like we got the Sedins locked up. Just in time! Interesting to see what we do tomorrow now.

What?

Link?

pretty sure CJHunt is on drugs

or the butt of a joke

It was announced in a Swedish paper, but then discredited on the team 1040. 5 years, 6 a season was what they reported.

Sounds fair. They really cant afford much more if they want to improve their team.

can't believe the canucks pulled that one out. nice!

Yep, although I'm still tilty over the fact that they both HAD to stay together.

Gawd damn incest.

Glad to see the Nucks signed the Twins to at a decent price (5 years, 30.5M each).

Sad to see Ohlund go to the Lightning but not a surprise.

Hopefully we can get into some interesting signing/trades now. Would love to see Mats make a decision before August...show us some love!!

I wouldn't mind seeing Tanguay signed for 2 years if we could get him at 4 million a year. I think he would compliment the 2nd line well.

hmm...I dunno. Is he even reliable to play the full season? and if he does I don't think you can count him for much more than 20 goals.

I like the idea of Joe Sakic coming in for $1M or something like that

What do you guys think of us grabbing Mikael Samuelsson? I think 2.5 is a bit much but it does give us options. I think something in the 2 million range would have been better. He could put up a few more points with an increased role on the 1st or 2nd line. I still hope we can sign Sundin to a very cheap deal and then package a couple of guys like Hansen, Grabner, Raymond, etc and a pick for a decent puck moving defencemen.