BREAKING: Canucks trade Luongo to the Panthers

According to Darren Dreger the Canucks have sent Roberto Luongo and Steven Anthony to the Panthers for Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias.

The Canucks will also retain 15% Luongo’s salary, according to Bob McKenzie, it varies from year-to-year but it is around $1 million per season for the first four seasons.

Less than 10 months ago the Canucks had Luongo and Cory Schneider and when they failed to trade Lu last season, they sent Schneider packing for New Jersey in exchange for a draft pick that ended up being Bo Horvat. Well after a new goaltending controversy arose with the emergence of Eddie Lack, Luongo has now been shipped back to Florida.

Luongo made it obvious that he was very upset that he did not get the start in Sunday’s Heritage Classic. It turns out that his last game as a Canuck will be one where he was sitting on the bench on a big stage… Seems rather fitting, given the situation over the past couple of years.

“I thought my contract was untradeable,” said Luongo. “Just when I was starting to let my guard down, the trade happens. Go figure.”

There are a number of intriguing aspects to this trade. First, Luongo and Tim Thomas are going to be sharing a net… There should be a lot of “tire pumping” going on in Sunrise now. Second, when Luongo was originally traded to Vancouver, Todd Bertuzzi was sent to Florida. The Panthers ended up dealing Bertuzzi to Detroit for Matthias, who has now been traded to Vancouver for Luongo… You got all that?

This could be the start of a fire-sale in Vancouver, I would expect that Ryan Kesler will be in a new uniform before tomorrow’s deadline. There is also potential for Kevin Bieksa and Alex Edler trades.

From a fantasy standpoint, this should help Luongo who should see the majority of the starts in Florida, instead of fighting for starts with Lack. As far as Lack goes, he should remain the Canucks “new” number-1 and will be pushed by Markstrom.