The Maple Leafs will never know if passing on Roberto Luongo was the right call. Trade deadlines are tough | The Star
The teams involved: the Maple Leafs and Canucks.
The player: Roberto Luongo.
As the clock approached 3 p.m. ET, the conversation was very animated.
The Vancouver goaltender’s well-documented long-term contract had made any trade seem nearly impossible, but these talks had started at the previous draft in June and kept resurfacing. With any player that significant, conversations are longer and greater in number. The difference that April day was two parties genuinely interested in making a deal, combined with the magic ingredient of a deadline. Deadlines serve their purpose, demanding decisions be made.
Trades take time, often years rather than months. Talks occur formally and casually: sometimes pointed and intended, sometimes added to a different conversation entirely. Managers are in constant contact for a reason, because things are constantly changing. What wasn’t available, affordable or attractive yesterday may be all three today.
Our management team liked Luongo, both as a player and a person. Dave Nonis, our GM, had already traded for Roberto once, when he went from Florida to Vancouver. Now he wanted him again. Our goaltending — like the rest of that Leafs roster — was young, led by James Reimer,
and we were judging both the timing and the cost of the situation: monetary and in players. Luongo’s 12-year, $64-million (U.S.) contract, signed in 2009, presented some complexities and Vancouver’s player demands were high.
As the clock ticked, the pressure grew. There were five principals in the conversation, and the voices were all heard.
Vancouver’s main target was centre Nazem Kadri, then 22 and just starting to figure things out. They also liked 22-year-old defenceman Jake Gardiner (knowing that recently drafted Morgan Rielly was not an option)
and a goalie would have been included, along with at least one or two significant draft picks. The price was high and would have dramatically changed the direction of our build.
At the last minute, we decided to stand pat. Luongo wound up getting traded the following year at the deadline: returning to the Florida Panthers, with top goaltending prospect Jacob Markstrom the main piece heading to the Canucks.
I think often of that moment, and how things could have been different.
