Thursday, June 29, 2006
Luongo signs four-year, $27 million deal with Canucks
Associated Press
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Goaltender Roberto Luongo
signed a $27 million, four-year deal with the Canucks on Thursday,
less than a week after he was acquired in a trade from Florida.
"Roberto has proven himself to be an elite goaltender,"
Vancouver general manager Dave Nonis said in a statement. "His
international experience, Vezina Trophy nomination and ability to
consistently play at the highest level are tremendous assets that
we believe will make the Vancouver Canucks competitive each and
every night."
The new deal will pay Luongo $6 million in the first year, $6.5
million in the second year, $7 million in the third year, and $7.5
million in the final year. The contract also contains a no-trade
clause for the final three years.
Luongo becomes the highest-paid player on the Canucks, ahead of
captain Markus Naslund, who has a $6 million salary.
The Canucks acquired the restricted free agent from the Panthers
last weekend, sending winger Todd Bertuzzi to Florida.
Luongo was dealt by the Panthers after contentious contract
talks, but it took Nonis a matter of days to do what Florida was
unable to do for well over a year.
The 27-year-old Montreal native is among the elite goalies in
the NHL, although he hasn't been in the playoffs after stints with
the Panthers and New York Islanders.
Luongo was 35-30-9 last season with a 2.97 goals-against
average, a .914 save percentage and four shutouts. Luongo has
played a total of 341 NHL games, posting a record of 115-168-41, a
2.72 GAA and a save percentage of .919.
He was also part of Canada's Olympic team in Torino and won gold
medals when he starred for Team Canada at the 2003 and 2004 world
championships.
Goaltender