The NHL Off-season

[rmackman]

This article today in the Sun-Sentinel I think sums up the trade:

HYDE:  Luongo trade beyond dumb

If you're thinking title run, you don't deal away Luongo.

June 25, 2006

He was the face of an otherwise faceless franchise, the best among hockey's young goalies, the star who called the Panthers on Friday to sign on for years.

So naturally, in keeping with their role as South Florida's worst-run franchise, the Panthers never returned Roberto Luongo's phone call. Instead, General Manager Mike Keenan took the final step in months of mishandling Luongo's situation by trading him to Vancouver in a five-player deal for a decent player with severe baggage and a couple of young maybes.

This isn't dumb. It's beyond dumb. It's a mess. A joke. In other words, it's everything you have come to expect from the Panthers during a lost decade of management issues, player issues and, by extension, winning issues.

You've spent the past week celebrating the Heat's championship season?

Celebrate even harder, South Florida, by peeking at the flip side of the Heat's rock-solid management.

As the fallout of this trade keeps falling, there's all sorts of ugly finger-pointing back and forth. About Keenan's intents. About whether Luongo's agent got too greedy. About who is most to blame. Those are all side dishes.

The real issue is whether the team's better today. And that answer depends: Do the Panthers just want to make the playoffs or actually try for a championship? Because you can make a case the Panthers are closer to the playoffs next season by adding forward Todd Bertuzzi, first-year starting goalie Alex Auld and serviceable defenseman Bryan Allen. If you're a mediocre team like the Panthers trying to get good, adding decent bodies helps put you there.

If you're thinking of a championship, though, you never trade Luongo. His talent takes a good team to great. That's always the more difficult leap to make in sports. That's why any good team with goaltending questions -- Ottawa, Detroit, Toronto and Vancouver -- was rumored to be after Luongo.

Luongo is by far the best player in this trade. Bertuzzi is the top name coming back. He's 32 next year. He tied for 45th in the league in scoring last season. He's dealing with all sorts of personal issues, from crushing an opponent's career with his hockey stick. He's also -- here we go again -- a free agent after next year.

Surprised? Angry? Confused? Stand in line, Panthers fans.

Smart management always deals with important issues before they become headlines, much less festering sores in the way this Luongo negotiation did. Think: Pat Riley talking to Shaquille O'Neal, behind the scenes, about shaving $10 million a year off his new contract to help the salary-cap-strangled team sign enough additional help to win a title.

That's smartly including a star in your plans. Trust is built. A relationship is cemented. That's how the best franchises do business.

Then there's the Panthers' way. Rather than sign Luongo to a long-term deal last summer, Keenan made Luongo become the only NHL player forced into the acidic process of arbitration. That saved a few pennies. It also was heavy-handed, shortsighted and understandably infuriated Luongo.

If you're looking back, that was the first sign Keenan was considering a trade of Luongo. He proceeded to frustrate Luongo even more by not getting a solid defenseman in the free-for-all of a free agency after the lockout season. That meant Luongo had little help in front of him again.

Along the way, there were gratuitous jabs, like stating how Luongo hadn't won anything, demanding he develop more and, finally, acting put out when Luongo declined a midseason offer. No wonder Luongo didn't trust Keenan.

So Luongo's agent asked for a little more money to sign a long-term deal? So what? Keenan couldn't return the call and lay down the law? Are we talking about what's best for someone's ego or what's best for the franchise?

Luongo wanted to stay here. He's said so repeatedly. He built a home here. His wife's family lives here. With a properly run franchise making the proper moves, it would have been a no-brainer to lock him up.

Once upon a time, the Panthers were that franchise. In their third season, they rode great front-office decisions, splendid goaltending and a lot of good luck to the Stanley Cup Finals. Riley sat in the seats at Miami Arena, hoping his Heat team could match that moment one day.

A decade later, after trading Luongo, times have changed. The Panthers might be closer to the playoffs, as they'll tell you. Big deal. The question is if they're closer to a title.

When you give up a great, young talent like Luongo, you're never closer. 1996 keeps slipping further away.

Dave Hyde can be reached at dhyde@sun-sentinel.com.

[steiny_ramone]

Here's a head start.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

Chances are he won't get to wear #1. #1 is "honoured" by the Leafs, it was Johnny Bower's number.

Turk Broda ring any bells? He is also honored under #1 if I remember correctly.

That's right, I forgot about him.

i would like to say, what the freaking hell! Why is Toronto so thrilled at the chance of dumping Matt Stajan for any :censored:face they can get????

Because he was barely used at all last year. I like Stajan too, but if they're only gonna play him under 10 minutes a game, they may as well trade him.

We can only hope that Maurice sees things differently, maybe moves him up to the second or third line.

[Brass]

Bruins trade Nick Boyton and a 2007 4th rounder to Phoenix for Paul Mara and a 3rd in either 2007 or 2008.

[youcan'tseeme]

i would like to say, what the freaking hell! Why is Toronto so thrilled at the chance of dumping Matt Stajan for any :censored:face they can get????

Because he was barely used at all last year. I like Stajan too, but if they're only gonna play him under 10 minutes a game, they may as well trade him.

We can only hope that Maurice sees things differently, maybe moves him up to the second or third line.

It's nice to see more support for Matty on these boards, out of the big 3 (Stajan, Steen, and Wellwood) he is the best of the 3 you saw last year when he got in an offenses roll at the end of last year, he started scoring, plsu he's good in the face-off circle adn can kill penalties he's an all around player who in the next 5 years will be a star if given more ice time. I seriously hope the Leafs don't make this deal! He's walking out on Edmonton, what's stopping him from doing it next year? then it will be to late cause we'll have giving up a potential star and Tomas Kaberle a future Norris winner, I would trade Kaberle for Pronger straight up.

Go Leafs Go!

[KevinMcD]

Bruins have fired Mike Sullivan as coach.

Article Here

[BCBoy]

Craig McTavish is a "free agent" so to speak, since the Oilers didn't pick up his option for next season. Is Boston going to try to take McTavish? I doubt McTavish will want to leave and the Oilers sure want him back, but if bigger dollars come from some where else, you never know......

[youcan'tseeme]

it feels good to have inside information for once so here it is:

the leafs have signed Bates Battaglia to an NHL contract, I don't know the terms or how many years but my mom's boss is friedns with him or his agent and just got of the phone with him saying he's signed.

this is real inside though hockeytraderumors.com doesn't even have this yet, and it is 100% true, this is youcan'tseeme reporting the story before TSN, sportsnet or any other sportscast. this deal may not be announced until later, but it has been signed. and that's a guarentee

although i don't know what to think

[Neon_Matrix]

it feels good to have inside information for once so here it is:

the leafs have signed Bates Battaglia to an NHL contract, I don't know the terms or how many years but my mom's boss is friedns with him or his agent and just got of the phone with him saying he's signed.

this is real inside though hockeytraderumors.com doesn't even have this yet, and it is 100% true, this is youcan'tseeme reporting the story before TSN, sportsnet or any other sportscast. this deal may not be announced until later, but it has been signed. and that's a guarentee

although i don't know what to think

Bates was signed to the Marlies last season and I don't dobut he will be signed to the Leafs if Maurice has a say in it. HTR isn't always on top of everything...yet again, most of the time they are. Im sure if this is true, we will hear about it soon.

[CC97]

it feels good to have inside information for once so here it is:

the leafs have signed Bates Battaglia to an NHL contract, I don't know the terms or how many years but my mom's boss is friedns with him or his agent and just got of the phone with him saying he's signed.

this is real inside though hockeytraderumors.com doesn't even have this yet, and it is 100% true, this is youcan'tseeme reporting the story before TSN, sportsnet or any other sportscast. this deal may not be announced until later, but it has been signed. and that's a guarentee

although i don't know what to think

Bates was signed to the Marlies last season and I don't dobut he will be signed to the Leafs if Maurice has a say in it. HTR isn't always on top of everything...yet again, most of the time they are. Im sure if this is true, we will hear about it soon.

i dunno if we'll hear about it, it's so minor... as you said bates was already with the marlies for a full season

[KevinMcD]

Bruins have fired Mike Sullivan as coach.

Article Here

And hire Dave Lewis formerly of Detroit.

Link

[Neon_Matrix]

McCabe IS going to sign with Toronto. He has verbally accepted the offer and will sign it shortly. 5.75 for 5 years...

[zer0dotcom]

News reoprts are that Roberto Luongo has signed a 4-year deal with the Canucks. Guess a change of scenery can really do wonders on what kind of deal you're willing to sign

[Brass]

Gary Roberts has expressed interest in signing with the Maple Leafs.

[ANBC]

News reoprts are that Roberto Luongo has signed a 4-year deal with the Canucks. Guess a change of scenery can really do wonders on what kind of deal you're willing to sign

Yup. 4 year deal worth 6.8 million each year with a no trade clause in the last 3 years of the contract.

[CC97]

Gary Roberts has expressed interest in signing with the Maple Leafs.

must be that "biased toronto media" again...

[Brass]

Wade Redden stays in Ottawa signing a 2 year deal worth around $17 million.

[Neon_Matrix]

Gary Roberts has expressed interest in signing with the Maple Leafs.

must be that "biased toronto media" again...

The report claims he has approached Mike Keenan about trading him to Toronto, that is, if they would take him. I personally like Roberts, but he is too old and if we are buying out Domi, why would we bring in someone older than him? He had his chance to return, but like most old people, Florida was too tempting of an offer.

[rmackman]

Gary Roberts has expressed interest in signing with the Maple Leafs.

I guess now that the Panthers traded Luongo everyone on the team will want to leave as fast as possible.

[Suigi]

McCabe IS going to sign with Toronto. He has verbally accepted the offer and will sign it shortly. 5.75 for 5 years...

McCabe: Signed to Toronto, confirmed: TSN.ca.

Redden: Signed to Ottawa, confirmed: TSN.ca.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

Dallas to buy out Bill Guerins contract. Source

i'd be curious what Stars fans think of this.