One of the biggest story lines in the young 2013 NHL season is whether the Toronto Maple Leafs will execute a trade for Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo.
Roberto Luongo rumors: Maple Leafs will not execute trade if it hampers team, says GM
The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to upgrade at the goaltender position but won’t engage in a deal that requires them to give away too many young players.
Rich Lam
Largely considered a foregone conclusion, the Maple Leafs have been tied to Luongo for a considerable amount of time. With rumors of trade negotiations at June’s entry draft and a reported deal in principle during the 113-day lockout, Luongo to the Leafs has apparently been discussed quite extensively.
However, Toronto’s new general manager Dave Nonis isn’t willing to pull the trigger any deal for a goaltender if it hurts his team.
With Vancouver reportedly requesting a sizable return for their 33-year-old netminder, Nonis isn’t willing to sacrifice young talent to bring him in, via the National Post:
“There’s only going to be a change in goal if we can upgrade at that position without severely hampering the ability to play in front of that goaltender, and without taking away very good young players from our reserve list. If we can add a veteran, if we can add a goaltender to help these guys along, we think that would be helpful.”
Vancouver's general manager Mike Gillis has stated that he has been engaging in discussions with teams. The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers have both been rumored to be interested and the Philadelphia Flyers have also emerged as a possible trade partner.
It should be noted that Nonis is the one who brought Luongo to Vancouver via trade in 2006 when he was still the Canucks’ manager.
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