[Official] Luongo Retires

[18W-40C-6W]

5 minutes ago, FireGillis said:

Damn. I really thought he would go on LTIR like everyone else, but I guess the key difference was everyone else was still on their original team, while Luongo is no longer a Canuck, so he would feel less bad about hitting us with that recapture.  The good news is it's only for 3m for 3 years and not the dreaded 8m it could have been later.  We can handle that caphit without much problem for 3 years.

And it’s more like 2.1/2.2 as we are paying 8-900k right now 

[ItalianCanuck1]

 

My teens. My favourite player ever. My Canucks.

 

Thank you. Thank you. Thanky you

[NewbieCanuckFan]

8 minutes ago, VegasCanuck said:

That would really suck for Nashville, considering that the only reason that contract got structured that was was due to matching an offer sheet from the Flyers.

 

They or the league will give them an out.  Canucks get any breaks?  Not a chance.

[Nuxfanabroad]

Congratz to Lu on a brilliant career. Don't mind this news as much as I used to anticipate. With the #riggeddeckleague, we've all become USED to two rulebooks.

 

So now we can retain salary on 3 contracts, if it's required.

 

Hopefully OTT wants Loui the blob.

 

Better now to sign Hutton much cheaper(if that's in the cards), than having qualified him.

 

This young team of ours will be fine, spending almost 97% of the cap up to 2022. F*** it..got bigger probs in this crazy world.

[FireGillis]

Looks like I was right, that if Luongo was still a Canuck he would go on LTIR, but his loyalty is to Florida now and they preferred he retired. It is so canucks luck though to be the first team to be hit with the recapture penalty. Not counting the kings because that was self inflicted.

 

https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1143946867467804673

Edited June 26, 2019 by FireGillis

[Odd.]

 LTIR LTIR! LTIR!

 

Jokes aside, but man what an amazing career Luongo. One of my favourite canucks of all time. Happy retirement. 

 

Best goaltender in Canucks history without a doubt.

[-SN-]

1 hour ago, Warhippy said:

I have said it once, twice a hundred times.

 

The Luongo deal was ratified under the old CBA.  As such it was agreed upon by the team, 29 different owners and the leagues head offices and NHLPA.  The joke about the "Luongo rule" after they changed the rules was that the league would try to enforce this but lose because it was signed in good faith.  If the league attempts to hold the Canucks liable after changing the parameters of the contracts than no court in the world would side with the league.

 

Because at days end, this was signed off on under the old CBA and at no point in time can you change the terms of an agreement after they are signed.  I don't recall Luongo agreeing to a rule change and as he was one of the signatories of this contract it is still binding under the old rules as well.

 

I hope Luongo finds a "medical illness" but at the same time hope he outright retires as the greatest goalie to never win a cup because the Canucks would destroy the league in a court fight on this period.

 

For further reference about "rule changes" see the NJD Kovalcash issue in which the league fined NJ but then relented once, then twice and gave them their pick back

100%. The Canucks need to fight this tooth and nail.

[Bombastik der Teutone]

All the best in your Retirement Lu  , thanks for Great Times with the Canucks. Greets from Germany 

Edited June 26, 2019 by Bombastik der Teutone

[xereau]

Canucks are the only team that are gonna get dinged on that bullcrap postfacto rule change by Buttman?

 

Would love to see the Canucks sue the NHL over this.

[Monteeun]

6 minutes ago, Virtanen#18 said:

I hope this cap hit doesn't mean we'll be stuck with Biega and Goldobin....  please just no!!! This offseason is supposed to bring us upgrades to both ends of the ice.... last summer JB was stupid enough to waste $ on Beagle and Schaller....

lol

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, StealthNuck said:

100%. The Canucks need to fight this tooth and nail.

650 reporting the penalty includes the 800,000 we retained on Loui's salary.  So it's not that bad, when that is factored in.  It's about a difference of 2 million, and we have another open spot retain salary on player, if we need to retain on a trade.  

All things considered, this stuff now if well worth having all those years with Loui on our team.  

[HC20.0]

Man, this is hitting me in the feels. Best goaltender we've ever had. Dude brought us stability and the best hockey we've ever seen as Canucks fans. All the best Lu. You'll forever be a Canuck, and one of my favourite players. Luuuuuuuuuuuu 

[VegasCanuck]

Even "if" we had to eat 3 million for the next 3 years, we're not really in a position until year 3, that we have any really big increases on Salary. We have Boeser this year and we have lots of space to do that, and we don't have to do Pettersson and Hughes until the 3rd year, which is when the cap correction for Escrow with the players is supposed to end and the league will be signing a really good new TV deal. Next summer, hearing about 2 million increase again and then big one in the 3rd year when they get that big revenue spike from Seattle and TV.

 

I still think that the Canucks can and will appeal this, but worst case, we aren't expecting to be a cap team for at least 2 years anyway.

 

Much happier that he's doing it this summer instead of next.

[RakuRaku]

3 minutes ago, Monteeun said:

lol

Why lol??  You don't think we could've spent less $, less term for an equally capable guy but younger than Beagle?

[nuck-lifer]

Congrats to Lou on an outstanding Career!

Lots of ups and downs but taking us to the cup final  was the icing..

 

The recapture rule looks like 

3033.206 for 3 years less the 800K retained = 2233.206 for each 3 years

 

is this correct or do we still get nailed with 800K as well?

[rawkdrummer]

Canucks have a strong case to go to court. Retroactive rules shouldn't hold up.

[ChuckNORRIS4Cup]

 

The reply from someone in that convo is brutality 

[Green Building]

Letter from Lu:

 

There's a lot I want to say.  

 

This is one of the toughest decisions I've faced in my life and it took me a long time to make it.  

 

After thinking about it a lot over the past two months and listening to my body, I made up my mind. It just feels like the right time for me to step away from the game.  

 

I love the game so much, but the commitment I required to prepare, to keep my body ready, has become overwhelming. Since I had my hip surgery a couple of years ago, I've been showing up two hours before every practice and three hours before every game to work out my hip. Even at night, whether it was the night before a game or even a night off, there I was rolling out, doing strengthening exercises. My entire life revolved around recovery, strengthening and making sure I was ready to go the next day.  

 

I was willing to make that sacrifice because I love the game, I love being part of it, being in the action and competing with my teammates. I was willing to go through it all for my love of hockey.  

 

After this season ended and I had an opportunity to step away, I started thinking about things. Looking back at last season, I just wasn't happy with my performance. I played better in the second half, but it wasn't up to the standards I expect of myself on a nightly basis. I wanted to be the backstop, to give my team a chance to win every night. I wanted to be on top of my game, stealing wins. It just wasn't there, at least not as much as I wanted it to be.  

 

As May rolled around, I was looking at the calendar and I found myself dreading getting back into my routine. My offseason workouts always start in the third week of May and I wasn't looking forward to getting back in the gym. There's a lot of work and effort required and I found my body telling me that it didn't want to go through it.

Then thinking about getting onto the ice in late July, for the first time in my career, I wasn't excited about it. That was the sign for me. It's not that I don't love playing hockey anymore, but I had to listen to my body. I'm at the point where my body was telling me it just needed a rest. It didn't really want to get going.  

 

So I've decided to retire, and it's been really tough. One of the hardest things I've gone through in making this decision was when I told Gianni and Gabriella, my kids. Seeing them cry when I told them about it because they loved coming to the games and watching me play so much, it really broke my heart. We cried together. It was hard, it was really sad.  

 

It's also hard because I live to compete. We play the game to win the Stanley Cup, to give ourselves a chance. It's hard because I think that this team is right there, close to taking the next step. I wanted nothing more than to be a part of that. With Coach Q coming in, it's an exciting time for the Florida Panthers.  

 

That made it more complicated and it wasn't something I took lightly. I questioned it, should I give it one more shot? Should I take one more chance to go for it?  

 

Talking to my friends, my family, everyone that I know, they were all telling me to go try and play one more year. Even though the people I love and trust the most were saying I should go for it, it never really swayed my decision. That was another sign, and there have been a lot of them over the past couple of months that made it clear to me that retiring was the right decision.  

 

I owe a lot to the people who've helped me reach this point. My wife Gina, she's always been there for me, she's the love of my life and the rock of my family. My brothers Leo and Fabio for the late-night calls and their council during ups and downs in my career. My parents, for all the sacrifices they made over the years, especially in my childhood when they'd find a way to carve out time they didn't have to bring me to rinks all across Quebec. And my in-laws, each one of them, for embracing me like family before I'd even met my wife.  

 

I've also been blessed to work with some great coaches. When I was young, trying to make a name for myself and got drafted, Frankie Allaire was there helping me. Ian Clark is one of the best goalie coaches I've ever worked with and helped me a lot during my time in Vancouver. Rollie Melanson too, he played a big part during my later years in Vancouver. And Robb Tallas, the last few years in Florida, we developed a great friendship and a special connection. He always had a good sense of the mental side of my game. He just knew how to get me to where I needed to be to be at my best.  

 

The list of great players I was lucky to share the ice with and great guys I was lucky to spend time in the locker room with goes on and on, whether it was in Florida, Vancouver or with Team Canada. In Vancouver, I played with the Sedin twins and Alex Burrows, who became one of my best friends. In Florida - it makes me feel old to say it - but I played with Pavel Bure in my first stint, and my second time around I got to play with one of the best players in the league in Sasha Barkov.  

 

The Panthers teams I've spent the past few years with, there's so many great guys in the room - I don't want to name anybody, because I don't want to forget anybody - but there's so many great people on this team. And that's hard too, because I'm going to miss being around my teammates and going to battle with them every night.  

 

And obviously there's the fans, everybody who has supported me over the years. I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. My life in this sport has been a great experience, and I'm glad I got to share some of my best hockey memories - from the Stanley Cup Final run, to the Olympic gold medal - with the fans in Vancouver.  

 

I want to take a moment to thank the people of Vancouver. I'll never forget the impact that city and their fans made not only on my career, but on my life as well. They will always hold a special place in my heart.  

 

Down here in Florida, I've been able to make this place home. It's the best place to live in the world and the fans have always been so warm and welcoming. When I'm out in Parkland, they're always going out of their way to thank me for what I did on the ice and for what I did off of it in addressing the community in the wake of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas last year. It has always warmed my heart to hear those kind words from fans, and they've always had so many nice things to say to me about how I impacted them, in some small way.  

 

I'm building a home in Parkland and it's going to be my family's permanent home for the rest of our time on this earth. I'm proud to be a Parkland resident. We've been through a lot, but we came together. We've tried to heal together and we've tried to make our community and our world a better place.  

 

Now I suppose I have to tell you what comes next, but to be honest, I'm not really sure yet. Right now, for me, the most important thing is to take a couple of months off: let my body rest, enjoy some time with family, be home with the kids every day. We're moving into a new house in late July, so it's going to be pretty busy. Eventually, hockey is in my blood and I still want to be involved somehow, whatever it may be.  

 

Once I've had some time to process this and make the adjustment, I'd love to be part of the Panthers organization. This is where my home is and I still love and want to be involved with hockey. At the end of the day, maybe I didn't win the Stanley Cup on the ice, but perhaps I can still put my name on it in another way. It wouldn't be quite the same, but it would still be quite the accomplishment.  

 

As I go through that process, I don't really want to spend every day talking about this decision. I'll have more to say eventually, but I'm looking for some privacy as I spend time with my family and reflect on my career. Down the road we'll have a lot of time to discuss retirement and what's to come in the future.  

 

For now though, I'm just another retiree in South Florida. I'll be going to get my senior citizen's card here pretty soon.

[PhillipBlunt]

Edited June 26, 2019 by PhillipBlunt

[JM_]

8 minutes ago, StealthNuck said:

100%. The Canucks need to fight this tooth and nail.

I would, particularly if FLA has offered Lu a fat salary to choose retirement vs LTIR.