In his first sit-down interview since the draft-day trade that sent teammate Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo revealed to TSN's James Duthie that he began discussions last May with the NHL Players' Association exploring the possibility of voiding his contract with the team.
Duthie revealed Luongo's admission on Twitter after conducting the interview, which is scheduled to air in two parts on Friday and Saturday night on TSN. Had he voided the remainder of his contract that runs through the 2021-22 season, Luongo would have walked away from roughly $40 million.
Schneider's trade to the Devils on June 30 ended a saga that lasted more than a year in which Luongo and his lengthy contract was reported to be on the trading block. In the end it was Schneider, who took over Luongo's starting role during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs before signing a three-year extension with the team that summer, who was shipped to the Devils for the ninth pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, which the Canucks used to select Bo Horvat of the London Knights.
Luongo will now report to Canucks training camp as the undisputed No. 1 goaltender, something he told Duthie he never would have envisioned just weeks earlier.
"I had moved on from Vancouver and was ready to start fresh somewhere else," Luongo is quoted as saying on Duthie's Twitter.
In a clip from the interview posted on TSN.ca, Luongo admitted that the back-and-forth with the Canucks, with whom he signed a 12-year, $64 million contract in 2009, was like a divorce.
"I use that analogy all the time. That's what it felt like and I accepted it," Luongo says in the clip. "I was fine with it and I've moved on personally. The only problem is she wanted me back."
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99
Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html
No comments:
Post a Comment