NHL Entry Draft - An Update and Some Trade Rumors

Q: Do the rules in the "new NHL" have any impact on the types of players you look for?
A: Yes. In this year's draft, teams will be going for picks based on speed and skill, including Vancouver. Look at Buffalo and how they performed with the rule changes. They are a good example of what a team can do. Teams want more speed now and small players that may have been shunned before are now hot commodities.

It's pretty much a given now that Florida Panthers general manager Mike Keenan has little option now that the goaltender has turned down two terrific offers from the club, stating through his agent Gilles Lupien that he will only finish this next season with the team before testing the free-agent waters -- unless he's given a no-trade clause.

This could be a ploy to force Florida's hand as it's no secret he has been put off on more than one occasion with some of the things that have gone on with his club. He was livid last August when he was at the Olympic orientation camp in Kelowna, B.C., upset that Keenan was going to take him to arbitration. And since then he has turned down at least two lucrative offers from the Panthers, one well publicized offer of US$30-million over five years and another whereby he was offered US$24-million over four years very recently.

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Sources indicate that the Canucks are certainly among the most interested teams given the type of package they might be able to offer in return. The L.A. Kings are also said to be very interested, along with the Oilers, who don't have Dwayne Roloson locked up for next year. When a guy like Luongo goes on the market, everyone has to be interested.

Canucks GM Dave Nonis has said publicly he feels Luongo is among the best goalies in the game and given the histrionics in goal this team has gone through in the time Nonis has been in and around the organization, he knows full well his acquisition would put an end to all that melodrama.

In terms of assets, he has a few, including one Todd Bertuzzi. A trade for the winger makes sense because Keenan likes Bertuzzi and thinks he'll be great again. And the off-loading of his US$5-million in salary would clear the decks for a Luongo signing in Vancouver.

No deal could happen without one of Vancouver's stars leaving. The problem is Keenan needs a goalie back in return. And while the Canucks have a great range of options to offer, are any of the three possibilities good enough to satisfy the former Vancouver coach turned Florida boss?

I think there will be opportunities to give our team a different look. How deep those changes go, I mean that remains to be seen. It depends on what presents itself.

It's picking up a little bit. I wouldn't say it's busy. I think it will get busy starting tomorrow (today) when people start getting into town, but a lot of things have happened in the last week or so.

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I think it'll be an exciting time. I think there's gonna be a lot of things that are gonna be discussed and we may see some fireworks there by Saturday afternoon.

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In terms of your pick, do you try to move? Yeah, if it doesn't cost you too much. You don't want to hurt your team. With a deal we make there, we can, you know, maybe move a player or two and fill some holes. I don't know. I mean, if that's there, I think there's lots of teams there looking to score those options and opportunities and that could lead to an exciting day.