Sports

Former Canuck Roberto Luongo now says ‘My contract didn’t suck’

Published

9 months ago

December 14, 2023

On Thursday morning, Roberto Luongo met with the Vancouver media ahead of his Ring of Honour night. The Hall of Fame goaltender is currently in the front office with the visiting Florida Panthers as a special assistant to the general manager and will be on the ice with his family on Thursday night. He sounded excited to greet the Vancouver fans in attendance.

With the media, however, he took the opportunity to clarify a couple of moments in his time with the Vancouver Canucks.

First of all, he didn’t request a trade back in 2013, when he and Cory Schneider were jockeying for starts and it seemed clear that his time in Vancouver was done.

“It wasn’t a trade request,” said Luongo. “It was more of a mutual [thing] with Mike Gillis. Cory was coming on and we had a discussion at the end of the year and I think we decided that it was best if I moved on and Cory was the guy. So, it wasn’t really a trade request, it was more a mutual decision.

“At that time, Cory was lights out, so obviously I obliged and we tried to work together to work something out.”

Of course, Luongo didn’t end up getting traded at that time. Instead, Schneider was moved at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft to the New Jersey Devils for the ninth-overall pick that wound up being Bo Horvat.

Luongo infamously said, “My contract sucks” at the 2013 trade deadline in response to questions about why he wasn’t traded.

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In retrospect, the comment was a little harsh.

“I’ll give you a little bit of the background of that,” said Luongo, laughing, when asked about the quote by Jeff Paterson. “I, literally 15 minutes before I came out, found out that I wasn’t getting traded to Toronto, so it was a little bit emotional at that time. Didn’t really have time to regroup.

“Obviously, my contract didn’t suck, but for certain reasons it did. I just remember being so emotional in that very moment just because what had transpired 15 minutes prior. I wish I would’ve had a few more minutes to maybe gather myself before I went out there.”

The “certain reasons” his contract sucked, of course, were that the NHL had retroactively punished the Canucks for a perfectly-legal contract with a penalty so punitive and obviously targeted that it was quickly dubbed, “The Luongo Rule.”

In any case, Luongo’s sentiment that his contract did not, in fact, suck was echoed by his former general manager on the Sekeres and Price show.

“His contract didn’t suck,” said Mike Gillis. “What happened was post-lockout, changes that we clearly did not anticipate happened. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff going on with other GMs and the league.”

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Sports

Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

Published

18 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.

The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.

The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.

Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.

“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”

Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.

Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.

In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.

Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.

Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.

Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.

It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.

Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.

FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.

And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.

“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.

The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.

The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.

Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.

The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.

Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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