The Ditch part deux

Roberto Luongo announces his retirement.

I've spent the last ten minutes lamenting his retirement. He's been a fixture for me, personally, as a Florida fan. He's been a fixture in the league for two decades. He'll be remembered in the history books. Gonna miss #1, man.

From a strictly financial / roster standpoint, Lu retiring makes things easier on the franchise, in all honesty. It means that they don't HAVE to trade Reimer if they can't find a suitor. It clears a path for the young guys. But... f***, we'll all miss him. F***. Lu... he deserved to go out so much better than he did. I remember that last game this season, when he left the ice immediately, rather than skating with the team. I felt it, then. I felt it... You could tell he was already contemplating it. Glad I was there to see it. Wish it had ended better.

 

He was the best goalie in the league for a while. Certainly among the best for a very long while.

This leads me to believe that Bob is on his was to southern Florida.

 

Roberto...

 

You can read the full letter here. It certainly made me tear up at work, man...

https://www.nhl.com/panthers/news/l...qG-ceLjlrlPS-6Td513OeKatnFA_07TGJhdza9nGqCLaQ

 

Hard to imagine the team doesn't throw every dollar at Bobrovsky that they can. Lu wasn't going to be the starter this year if he returned, but him leaving means that either Reimer or (more likely) Montembeault will be the backup, which makes a top starter even more imperative.

 

If not Bob then maybe a Lehner or Varlamov on a 3-4 year deal. The kid might be ready by then.

 

Florida and especially Vancouver will now take a nice cap penalty.

 

Yeah, those are the two paths forward, and both present risks. Signing Bob to a 7 year deal at top money means an overlap with the planned successor in Knight. Signing Lehner or Varlamov to shorter deals means less long term financial commitment / potential waste, but leaves risk of underperformance in those years, if those guys don't repeat / improve on good years.

Either way, the Panthers engineered this themselves. The absolute refusal to replenish the D and G talent pools, while refusing to deal any F prospects, has led to a situation where they have to spend and take risks. We'll see what they choose to do...

 

I think the Bob/Knight overlap is the way to go. Sure there’ll most likely be financial waste down the road but you’re improving immensely in the short term and giving yourselves options down the road. If Knight stays in school 2 or 3 years and then signs an ELC you’re only looking at a costly overlap on the back couple seasons of a hypothetical 7 year Bob deal. While Knight seems like the real deal you never actually know. Jack Campbell was the real deal not too long ago to.
This is all only true if the Fla brass believe Bob will still be earning those dollars on the back end.

 

you happen to know those numbers?

 

According to TSN, its $3M on the Nucks.

 

$3,033,000 for the next three years and Florida.$1.094,000.

 

Vancouver Courier reporting the same number (for Vancouver)... I havnt got Florida's yet.

 

I agree that this is the way to go. And I believe that the franchise feels the same way. Ownership is paying Q big money, and approved Tallon to spend as he sees fit. The franchise has done everything right off the ice over the last few years - if they managed to win, they would've been able to develop the fan base and franchise image significantly.

If they can't get this team to win consistently and meaningfully over the next 2-3 years, I believe they'll sell the team. I don't think they have any intention of waiting to be successful, if a guy like Lehner can't do it now - we've all been waiting plenty long enough. This "young" team really isn't young anymore - they're in their prime.

Drafting Knight is either going to be a strike out or a homerun. There's every chance, as there is with any goalie, that he doesn't become the franchise keeper they hope. But, if he is, and Bobrovsky is still playing well late into his contract, there's a very real possibility that they could trade him to a team in a similar position that Florida's in now. A team that's competitive with a retiring goalie and no ready successor... could be a prime spot for 2-3 years of Bob on the back end.

But that's all in an ideal world. If I've learned anything as a FLA fan, that's not a world we live in.

 

That $1.09 mil penalty number for FLA is correct, as is Vancouver's (from the salary cap sources I use).

What I've always been unclear on: is that penalty number on top of the salary, or is Florida's cap clear of the salaried amount otherwise owed?

In other words: FLA would've paid $5.3 mil in salary, counted against the cap. What happens to that number? Is the penalty in place of that, or on top of that?

 

$2.203 for the Canucks for 3 years. They already were retaining $800k.

 

Luongo's original salary is off the books. They only pay the penalty.

Technically Vancouver no longer retains $800k but now gets a penalty instead that just so happens to include that amount.

 

That's what I thought, but was having trouble finding confirmation for it. Much appreciated!

That's a $4.2 mil reduction in used cap space. That's a big deal for a team needing to pay for a starting goalie, and also interested in paying his winger best friend...

Before the offseason, I said that the way FLA's goalie situation was handled would be one of the more interesting story lines of the offseason. Update:

Luongo - retired
Bobrovsky / Lehner / Varlamov / Other - certain to be signed, just remains to be seen which / how much. At this point, every sign says that the team is all-in on Bob.

Reimer - team has been trying to trade ; may remain as backup with Lu gone
Montembeault - AHL / primary backup, depending on Reimer situation

Spencer Knight - drafted 13th overall