OK, So What I have been told

[Meds]

Thanks for that HW. If your source is on the money with this one it certainly has answered a lot of questions. The bit about Schneider and Raymond were both great to hear.

[Per]

Thanks for bringing us up to date, HW! Great post, as always.

[Hockey Widow]

Thanks for the info, HW.

Interestingly, Hodgson's father was a cabinet minister in Ontario provincial gov't in the past and is the president of the Ontario Mining Association. I assume that means the Hodgson family is already wealthy. So, it makes the big money contract concerns even more puzzling.

Did you ever get further confirmation that the flu was going thru the team during the Chicago series last April? Why did the team never mention it?

It wasn't the flu. The best they could determine was that after game 3 or 4 in Chicago ( I forget now which game) the majority of the players got something from the after game food in the dressing room. The way the illness spread, who got infected and the symptoms were all consistent with food poisoning/sickness. Most of the players and coaching staff had some effects, some worse than others. As any of us who have been so inflicted we know it can take a good week to 10 days before you feel 100%. A lot of the players were on IV drips between periods for a few games after that as dehydration set in with the constant shits and vomiting. They never did track it down 100% but were pretty sure it came from that source.

And yes, they did down play it as not to make excuses.

Speaking of injuries it is interesting to read Boston fans whine about all their injuries right now.

[donlever]

Thanks HW.

I wonder if Papa Cody is happy with the 11 minutes he got last night?

At 22 Cody could have been a World Juniour and Stanley Cup Champion.

Now he plays in Buffalo.

Thanks Pops.

I'm lovin' me the Luongo stuff....eh Coco!?!?!

[tantalum]

Can't help but think Cody's less than stellar play with the Sabres has a component of depression to it. No not he's going to slit his wrists depression but being annoyed and upset with how things went down. He went from a contender to a team that may squeak into the playoffs. Is it slowly dawning on him that his father is potentially making a mess of his career? Difficult things for a young man to struggle with.

[Listercat]

Great stuff as usual HW !!

At some point Cody has to take charge of his own life and career. Daddy and Agent need to be put in their place. Ruff gave him his opportunity in Buffalo and he obviously was not able to do anything with his increased minutes. I hope for the kid's sake he battles through this.

Luongo, what can you say.

[KeyserSoze]

Well I've got a new ideal scenario.

Win the cup right now with Luo, get him and us a ring then ship him off in the summer to be closer to family.

Pick up parts and pieces to build a consistent contender for years to come!

Ya...let's do that!

[Arachnid]

Great stuff as usual HW !!

At some point Cody has to take charge of his own life and career. Daddy and Agent need to be put in their place. Ruff gave him his opportunity in Buffalo and he obviously was not able to do anything with his increased minutes. I hope for the kid's sake he battles through this.

Luongo, what can you say.

Yah know what, he will, he has risen to every challenge in his short life. Sometimes, even despite our parentage the kids thrive, he does have a history of being a spoiled brat as the Buttaflos are just finding out (hey, just where are those annoying gnats from the mistake on the lake these days?! ever since Kickassian got more pints and CoHo's minutes +/- and lines went south ass fast as a grey bearded canucklhead... )
It will just take a bit of time for Cody to adjust and get over his moping...I'm sure his good buddy Gary Roberts will straighten him out in the off-season...or sooner...

[coco_canuck]

I'm lovin' me the Luongo stuff....eh Coco!?!?!

As you know all too well, I'm quick to come to the defence of Luongo, but outside of the wifey/distraction thing, HW's post is good news.

If I could have my way, I'd like to keep both goalies, but that seems like it's becoming a non-starter.

Last season, I was blown away by Schneider, and I said at the time that all things being equal, going with a talented young goalie with pedigree who is 7 years younger would seem like the most rational decision.

But as we know, management decisions aren't made in a vacuum.

That's not to say that there's any guarantee Schneider will end up being a better goalie than Luongo, but at the very least, he should come close.

Schneider is a former 1st round pick, was the best goalie in the NCAA for at least 2 seasons, was the best in the AHL for 2 seasons and has been lights out in the NHL so far. He clearly has the size, athleticism, talent, technique and demeanour. There's nothing that suggests he won't live up to his potential of being a franchise goalie.

As much as I like Luongo and would be sad to see the day he gets moved, keeping Schneider as the long-term choice is pretty much a no-brainer if a Luo is willing to waive his NTC and a good deal can be worked out.

Also, thanks again HW, great stuff as usual.

[tantalum]

I think we will get a lot of info on the goalie "situation" in the playoffs. Despite Gillis and AV constantly saying things like "I'm the GM and he's the coach. He makes the lineup decisions" I don't believe there isn't overlap in when it comes to team direction. AV will make lineup changes at least somewhat based on what is best for the team going forward. So what does this mean if the organization is leaning towards Schneider? Well it means that AV will be much quicker to give Luongo the hook when he has a tough game than in the past. It also means that if Luongo is having a tough couple of games that they will be much more willing to go with Schneider. We saw a glimmer of that in the first round last year already.

In the end I think Tampa would be happy taking on either of the goaltenders the canucks have.

[Vpete]

I would think that Tampa makes the most logical sense for Luongo but you have to imagine that money has to be going back to Vancouver and the Canucks could not take on Vinnie's deal even with removing Luongo's.

So let's play the speculation game...

I wonder about Washington, Toronto or Jersey or the Islanders? All in the easy with suspect goaltending or needs in the future. Washington is a salary cap mess but has 20 million in space coming up- would they jettison Vokoun and Semin for Luongo in terms of dollar allocation? Does it even make sense?

If Luongo needs to move for his sake, family etc... just how much does Gillis have to take back or give up to make the deal happen?

Man this is going to be a wild run of speculation into the summer.

[Arachnid]

I think we will get a lot of info on the goalie "situation" in the playoffs. Despite Gillis and AV constantly saying things like "I'm the GM and he's the coach. He makes the lineup decisions" I don't believe there isn't overlap in when it comes to team direction. AV will make lineup changes at least somewhat based on what is best for the team going forward. So what does this mean if the organization is leaning towards Schneider? Well it means that AV will be much quicker to give Luongo the hook when he has a tough game than in the past. It also means that if Luongo is having a tough couple of games that they will be much more willing to go with Schneider. We saw a glimmer of that in the first round last year already.

In the end I think Tampa would be happy taking on either of the goaltenders the canucks have.

I was just thinking the same thing, if he struggles physically because he is mentally not there then they have an out and can say 'listen bud, you fucked up your own life, we gave you everything you needed and you fucked it up yourself so no hard feelings eh?! you're not our number uno anee l'more....but hey, we aren't heartless, we'll trade you back to your arch rivals in the sunshine state and you can do your best Tiger Woods impersonation and try to avoid losing half of everything your sports career paid you...'

Oh happy day! Cory's time to shine in the U.S. of A-holes

[Larry Goodenough]

Thanks for the info, HW.

Interestingly, Hodgson's father was a cabinet minister in Ontario provincial gov't in the past and is the president of the Ontario Mining Association. I assume that means the Hodgson family is already wealthy. So, it makes the big money contract concerns even more puzzling.

Did you ever get further confirmation that the flu was going thru the team during the Chicago series last April? Why did the team never mention it?

It wasn't the flu. The best they could determine was that after game 3 or 4 in Chicago ( I forget now which game) the majority of the players got something from the after game food in the dressing room. The way the illness spread, who got infected and the symptoms were all consistent with food poisoning/sickness. Most of the players and coaching staff had some effects, some worse than others. As any of us who have been so inflicted we know it can take a good week to 10 days before you feel 100%. A lot of the players were on IV drips between periods for a few games after that as dehydration set in with the constant shits and vomiting. They never did track it down 100% but were pretty sure it came from that source.

And yes, they did down play it as not to make excuses.

Speaking of injuries it is interesting to read Boston fans whine about all their injuries right now.

Thanks, that gives me a little more confidence.

[Larry Goodenough]

Can't help but think Cody's less than stellar play with the Sabres has a component of depression to it. No not he's going to slit his wrists depression but being annoyed and upset with how things went down. He went from a contender to a team that may squeak into the playoffs. Is it slowly dawning on him that his father is potentially making a mess of his career? Difficult things for a young man to struggle with.

I see it as the other way around. Moving to a new team, no matter what the situation, gives you an adrenaline and energy boost. Showing your new team what you can do and showing your old team they made a mistake.

[TDA Rum]

Vokoun is a UFA, so not likely a tradeable asset and and Roloson is a UFA as well so his 3.5 million will be off Tampas books so they could easily fit Luongos 5.3 million cap hit into their budget...
Semin is also a UFA so i can't see therm trading for his rights, especially as he will probably want a raise on his 6.7 million...with no guarantees he will sign with them...