Report Schneider's Agent: Both Goalies Coming Back Is "leading Possibility"

[MoneypuckOverlord]

Mike Gillis >>>>>>> random fan on canucks.com.

I rather keep both goalies, then have a bunch of "picks"

He knows what hes doing. I will welcome the idea of having both goalies back next year, that being said, he's also fully aware that Schneider is going to be a UFA next season, so he better act fast. Trust Gillis on this. Also it will be much more difficult to trade, but if he decides to trade one of them at deadline, he will probably get a higer return then he will at the draft day.

[Provost]

Definitely just a negotiating ploy. I don't see how it could possibly work out.

Schneider has earned a starting spot, and he can get it if he wants by signing an offer sheet. The compensation back to us would be minimal for a $3-4 million contract.

It is also almost impossible for Luongo to stay as he would be torn apart by the fans after he allowed his first bad goal of the season.

[Barry_Wilkins]

Our D core used to be rock solid top to bottom, but there's no way we'll make it to the finals next year with what we've presently got on the back end. Salo will be another year older, and slower. And there's no guarantee we'll be able to pluck a stud #2 or #3 from UFA or trade, the latter especially failing if we have to sign both Lu and Schneider.

I'd like one or the other goalie dealt for a tough, proven minute-eating D (plus prospect and/or pick).

[D-Money]

This makes about as much sense as the cialis/viagra commercials.

[Ghostdivision]

I would be shocked if this happened.

Either your telling lou hes playing less games again which im sure will go over well (lou himself would need to decide hes ok with not being a guaranteed starter here, which I dont see)

And/or cory would need to be told he will be splitting time with lou again and might get 40 games or so max... which I also dont see cory accepting when he knows he could be starter on a bunch of other teams.

[Jared S]

I would welcome this opportunity with open arms. Having 2 of the top 10 goaltenders in the league makes this team so diverse and gives us a lot of options. Only if MG can lock down Cory to a home town discount

[Trelane42]

This better be just posturing by MG in an effort to get a better return.

Only one goalie can play at a time. During playoffs it is almost always one guy going the distance. If we, YET AGAIN, have an asset sitting on the bench when the team is so obviously lacking in goal scoring and truculence then it will be on management.

[smithers joe]

if gillis can't get the return, he is looking for, i can see both goalies starting the year here...gillis wants to trade from a position of strength, not the other way around.....

[Niklas Jensen]

So every freakin game, a valuable asset is sitting on the bench opening and closing the bench gate...wow, that is such efficient use of your asset and resource.

[VMR]

This team needs solid ground next year.. Only one of these guys should be back here next year.

I am a Lu supporter and want him back, with that said if Cory is the one here next year then so be it, I would not cry about having a great goalie.

Fans, I ask/plead that you support whoever is here next year no matter who is here. These guys are human and play for our team and need positive energy.

[DeNiro]

if gillis can't get the return, he is looking for, i can see both goalies starting the year here...gillis wants to trade from a position of strength, not the other way around.....

[CHIPS]

Unless MG is certain that he can sign enough offence WHILE keeping both goalies, we have no choice but to trade one. We can't score when we need scoring the most, the playoffs. We also need one or two ogre dman. When we have 4 guys in front of the net and the 4 of them can't push down one guy (Richardson) we have a VERY SERIOUS size problem.

[Spitfire_Spiky]

Luongo is going to be traded...plain and simple. The way he left and his comments to the media all but roll out the carpet for his departure. If by some means he is still in a Nucks uniform come next year it'll be because MG couldn't get the return he wanted for him.

[LegionOfDoom]

He will say anything to make teams think he's going to hold on to get a higher offer

[D-Money]

If they go into next season with both, that doesn't mean they'll both be here for the whole year.

Let's say that Gillis can't get the return he wants in the offseason with all of the goalies on the market. So he holds out until the beginning of the season, and builds the team as he sees fit with the cap room he has. Then, early in the season, one of our core players is suddenly out with a concussion for an indefinite period. At the same time, a few NHL teams have serious goaltender issues (injury and/or poor play). Suddenly, the market has heated up, and Gillis knows exactly which position he needs to reinforce.

Here are some examples of goalies getting hurt early in the year:

- Kari Lehtonen, Stars - 2011/11/27, Groin, missed 12 games.

- Josh Harding, Wild - 2010/09/26, Right knee injury, missed all 82 games.

- Nikolai Khabibulin, Oilers - 2009/11/21, back, missed 60 games (rest of season).

- Cam Ward, Hurricanes - 2009/11/08, Lacerated left leg, missed 13 games.

- Roberto Luongo, Canucks - 2008/11/24, Groin, missed 24 games.

- Martin Brodeur, Devils - 2008/11/03 Left elbow, missed 50 games.

- Kari Lehtonen, Thrashers - 2008/11/01, Back, missed 21 games.

- Rick DiPietro, Islanders - 2008/10/27, Lower body injury, missed 27 games.

- Tomas Vokoun, Predators - 2006/11/25, Thumb injury, missed 20 games.

The other possibility is that one of our goalies gets hurt. Either way, if the returns being offered suck, it's better to hold on to both until teams are desperate.

[Jester@wraiths.ca]

Why would poeple be complaining about this?

It's our awesome goalie tandem that has made us so successful the last couple seasons. We're not making it back to the finals if we don't have two goalies that can play, and Lack is far from proven.

[DeNiro]

That really makes no sense whatsoever.

How many teams go to the finals by playing 2 goaltenders? Almost none. The teams that go out in the first 2 rounds usually play both goalies... because they are losing.

The final 4 are all teams using 1 goalie, Smith, Lundquist, Quick, and Brodeur...

While having a solid backup is important, spending 3 million or more for a backup isn't well allocated funds. I'd rather have a backup at 1 million and an extra 2 million spent on an honest to god top 6 forward (example, Raymond at 2.55 or send him packing and add another 2 million to what we can pay for a forward...)

[Jester@wraiths.ca]

So we should overpay in free agency on another perimeter top 6 forward?

Any top 6 forward we can get in free agency is going to cost at least 4 mil and will likely only be a 40 point player.

We've gotta start promoting from within, or we're going to keep getting stuck with overpriced contracts, and not having any room for our prospects to slot in.

With the salary cap going up, having a 2-3 milion dollar backup isn't that impossible. I'd rather take the extra money and acquire a top 4 defenceman. That can be done by letting Raymond and Salo go, and promoting someone from the farm for the third line.

[DeNiro]

So throw the extra money at Ryan Suter then, the point is, spending a few extra million for someone to sit on the bench won't help as much as spending it on a player who will be playing 20 minutes a game.

The other problem with the plan is the "promote from within", since we've traded away more young players than we've promoted, and with AV at the helm, does anyone honestly expect to see young players being given the chance to make an impact here?

[Jester@wraiths.ca]

Well if we can can get Suter, then obviously I'm all for it. But that's far from a certainty.

The truth is, if we don't make significant upgrades in our D, we're going to need a strong goalie tandem again. Because a top 6 forward isn't going to solve the problem of our D consistently breaking down in the playoffs.