The Bobby Lu Mega Trade Sweepstakes

Posted: April 28, 2012 | Author: El Gran Cabron | Filed under: Vancouver Canucks | Tags: blue jackets, bobby lu, canucks, columbus, lightning, luongo, maple leafs, nashville, predators, shea weber, tampa bay, toronto | Comments Off

NEWS FLASH: Roberto Luongo not only said he would be willing to waive his No Trade Clause *cue dramatic music* he also went a step further and requested a trade, then went another step forward and put together a list of teams that he would be willing to be traded to!

(That last step may not be accurate but let’s not let the truth get in the way of a good story)

Now comes the fun part – speculation! Speculation is a blogger’s best friend so let us grab our BFF by the hand and waltz into the mires of potential trades that the Vancouver Canucks General Manager Mike Gillis could execute in order to rid his team of the tyranny of the best goaltender that the franchise has ever known.

Let’s run through a list of potential destinations for Bobby Lu and list what the Canucks could get back in return, starting with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Team: Columbus Blue Jackets 

Worst trade possible for the Canucks

Luongo to Columbus for Jack Johnson, Steve Mason and Taylor Ellington

Pretty grim on the surface and it keeps getting darker if you dig a little deeper. Sure Jack Johnson can score the odd goal but in him the Canucks would get yet another left handed shot on the blue line and yet another defensemen who is totally iffy in his own end. The Steve Mason story is the stuff of goalie lore now, but the one positive for the Canucks having Mason would be the sage advice he could give Cory Schneider when his play skids down the gutter and into the drain after such a good start to his career. Mason’s been there, done that and he could at least make sure Schneider is wearing the right sized pads. And of course, just when the Canucks finally got rid of Taylor Ellington and his silly contract, they get him right back. No thanks.

Best trade possible for the Canucks

Luongo, Ballard and Raymond to Columbus for Rick Nash and the 2012 1st round pick.

Not only do the Canucks end the evil reign of the Overlord Bobby Lu, they shed a bad contract and a bad player AND get a star in return AND the chance to draft a star with the 2nd overall pick in this year’s draft. Booyah.

Alright, let’s get serious for a moment

Columbus is a little closer to Florida but I highly doubt that is enough to make Luongo willing to play there. He wants to win a cup and the perennial re-build going on at the Blue Jackets is not something I can see him being a part of. Also, no way in hell I want Nash wearing the blue and green with that contract. Yech.

Team: Tampa Bay Lightning

Worst trade possible for the Canucks

Luongo to Tampa Bay for Ryan Malone and a bag of pucks.

Oooo controversy. I know there’s a few Canucks fans out there that want Malone on their team but I, ladies and gents, am not one of them. We’re talking about a guy whose play is nothing like it was when he was a Penguin, a guy who should be a top 6 forward but has struggled to reach 20 goals the past couple of years and a guy who has a $4.5 mill cap hit for the next 3 years. We already have David Booth so no thank you sir. Still, that bag of pucks could come in handy at practice…

Best trade possible for the Canucks

Anything that involves Victor Hedman coming back the other way.

Yeah he’s another lefty but Hedman is big, strong and scary and is still only 21 years old. Plus he’s from the same town as the Sedins, so maybe he could form some kind of weird Swedish chemistry with them. I’m a huge Hedman fan and I would love to see him patrol the Canucks blue line like some kind of Norse demi-god. Plus he’s signed at a reasonable cap hit for the next 5 years. $4 mill per – that’s good for a demi-god.

Alright, let’s get serious for a moment

Tampa Bay is the most obvious destination for Luongo. It’s close to home and unlike the Florida Panthers they can actually afford him. Also unlike the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay has no decent goaltender waiting in the wings. Still, you have to wonder what they can give the Canucks in return. Malone could be a factor but I doubt Gillis wants him as it gives no cap relief and Malone is getting old – don’t forget Gillis wants young players. Yzerman won’t give up Hedman for Luongo, or anyone else for that matter, so, what exactly can the Lightning throw in to make a deal possible? Picks? Brett Connelly? Oooo, now that’s a juicy prospect – home grown boy on the Canucks? BC would explode.

Team: Toronto Maple Leafs

Worst trade possible for the Canucks

Luongo to Toronto for Mike Komisarek

Need I even speak about this. I would demand Gillis’ head for this one.

Best trade possible for the Canucks

Luongo to Toronto for Luke Schenn, Nazem Kadri and that 2012 1st round pick

Oooo… yet another controversial one. Luke Schenn is much maligned but I see potential there for the Canucks. Big defensemen, gritty, right handed shot, still very young (22 years old, yo). If anyone could groom him into the best player he can be then it would be Rick Bowness. Kadri has a lot of offensive upside and he could, theoretically, be the center the Canucks need on the 2nd unit power play. And that 1st round pick would be plenty good too please.

Alright, let’s get serious for a moment

I can’t see Luongo jumping from the Vancouver frying pan into the Toronto fire. If he is human, which I assume he is (unlike Victor Hedman), he would not want all the negativity in his life any more. He’s the best goaltender in Canucks history and he’s being run out of town – the same will happen in Toronto unless he can backstop them to a Stanley Cup and let’s face it, the Leafs won’t win a Cup in Lu’s lifetime, let alone his playing career. But let’s say for a minute that Luongo would be willing to take on the challenge of playing for the Maple Leafs. Schenn is a realistic trade piece, Kadri probably isn’t and that 1st round pick will be held onto by Brian Burke like it was the key to Fort Knox after the fiasco that was the Kessel trade. I’m not sure that the Leafs have much the Canucks would actually want so the trade could be difficult to complete.

Finally, the big one, the one that I want Mike Gillis to execute above all else – the mystical 3 way trade.

Teams: Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators (can you see where I’m headed with this?)

The trade

Luongo, Ballard & Raymond to Columbus for Rick Nash

Rick Nash to Nashville for the rights to Shea freakin’ Weber

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