Roberto Luongo enters the 2013-14 season as the Canucks' number-one netminder.
It's a position he did not enjoy entering the lockout-shortened 2013 season.
Embroiled in a long battle for playing time with fellow netminder Cory Schneider that dates back to before the Canucks' 2011 Stanley Cup Final run, Luongo spent the better part of the past 12 months addressing trade speculation.
However, at the 2013 NHL Draft Canucks general manager Mike Gillis would make a shock move, dealing Schneider and not Luongo.
The deal netted the Canucks the ninth overall pick - which they would use to select Bo Horvat – and handed the net firmly back over to Luongo for the foreseeable future.
Speaking at the Vancouver Canucks' Summer Summit – an event organized by the Canucks for its fans to update them on team business and news – Gillis was asked immediately about his decision to deal Schneider.
"What happened could have been the result all the way through," Gillis said of the decision to deal Schneider. "At the end of the day we had to make a choice and we made the choice to go to Roberto."
The choice was a surprise to many, so much so that Gillis travelled to Florida to have a face-to-face visit with Luongo at his home to discuss his role moving forward. Gillis' recount of that conversation was one of a changed Luongo, the same player that has become a loose and candid person with the media and fans alike.
"It's been a remarkable transformation," Gillis said of Luongo's shift from the end of 2011 to now.
"He felt that after that [2011 Stanley Cup Final] series happened he was blamed more than others or that he was held accountable more than others," Gillis said.
However, Gillis would reiterate that he's comfortable with Luongo as his starter and also stated his belief that his goaltender would also be representing Canada at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
"Roberto will be our starting goalie," Gillis added. "I feel very optimistic about it."
Other issues addressed at the summit included the hopes that the roof will be open at B.C. Place Stadium when the Vancouver Canucks host the Ottawa Senators in the Heritage Classic in March.
"If worse comes to worse and it needs to be a covered facility, it'll be a covered facility," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "We hope that's not the case."
Daly fielded questions ahead of Gillis and spoke of the Heritage Classic, amongst other league business like officiating, the health of the League and the possibility of an NHL franchise in Seattle.
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