Closing the Window of Opportunity

The long awaited news of Roberto Luongo getting traded out of Vancouver has finally happened, but not without some controversy (big surprise!).  The official word will say that Luongo and Steven Anthony will head to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias.  However, Luongo's time appeared to be up long before today.  Dating back to the end of the 2012 playoffs, Luongo was being shopped around, and it was thought that the Canucks were going to find a trade partner at some point.  It appeared that he was staying in Vancouver after Cory Schneider was traded to New Jersey this offseason for far less than what the Canucks should have gotten for him (New Jersey's first round pick that year, which turned out to be Bo Horvat).  Rumors of Luongo asking out surfaced once again this weekend when he was switched out of the starting assignment at the last minute on the Sunday game against Ottawa in favor of Eddie Lack.

The trade effectively ends any hope of Vancouver becoming Stanley Cup contenders for a while, as the Sedins aren't getting any younger, Ryan Kesler is at the center of trade rumors, and there simply isn't any real young talent coming in through the pipeline, only Horvat has any potential at this point.  2012 first round pick Brendan Gaunce is likely a year away, as is another 2013 first round pick in Hunter Shinkaruk (who is also recovering from a season-ending injury with Medicine Hat).  2011 first round pick Nicklas Jensen has had trouble finding his game in Utica of the AHL.  Ill-advised trades in the last three years (Derek Roy from Dallas last year and Zack Kassian, acquired in a deal for Cody Hodgson the year before that, as well as Keith Ballard for Michael Grabner prior to the 2010-11 season) have also done its fair share of damage to the Canucks.  This year was going to be a transition year, as John Tortorella's system was going to need to integrate his kind of players into the existing roster, and while he has certainly livened things up behind the bench, the results on the ice haven't been anything to write home about.  As of today, the Canucks are two points out of the last playoff spot with a game tonight at Phoenix, and it would be wise for the Canucks to start thinking about the future, and that may need to begin with getting a new General Manager.  The current GM Mike Gillis has had the time to figure it out, and it hasn't worked well enough for him to be around next season.  Mishandling the Luongo situation for two years should be his final nail in the coffin, as he has gotten far less in trades and hasn't done a great job of finding and/or keeping the potential talent.