Hockey Trade Rumors

It depends how bad the feelings are between Brian Burke and Mike Gillis.

After the weekend, it’s not hard to say they’re sour, with gusts to out-and-out dislike.

That’s okay. GMs who don’t like each other can do hockey deals, and part of the weekend was spent by both men trying to see if they can work out a trade that would move Roberto Luongo and his enormous contract into the Leaf tent.

Nothing happened, and Burke’s comments that he wasn’t going to “strip-mine” his organization to get a goalie without mentioning Luongo specifically suggested Gillis is asking for a lot more than Burke – or anybody – is willing to give. Only Florida is also in the mix, it appears, which works for Luongo since it’s his first choice.

Gillis says he’s in no hurry. Well, he might want to re-think that.

There’s one card Burke could play, one that would turn relations between the two clubs downright ugly.

The Leaf GM could lay down a huge, multi-year, multi-million offer sheet next Monday for the other Vancouver goalie, 26-year-old restricted free agent Cory Schneider, the Canucks goalie every team would rather get if they had a choice.

That wouldn’t get them Schneider; Vancouver would have to match rather than accept multiple first rounders from Toronto.

But it would force Vancouver’s hand in the same way San Jose forced Chicago to let Antti Niemi go a few years ago by signing Niklas Hjalmarsson. Let’s say the Schneider offer was eight years for $40 million. The Canucks would be stuck with more than $10 million in annual goalie costs, with both at lengthy terms. The Leafs could also, if they wanted, load the deal with so-called “lockout” money, say $15 million in the first year that would be Schneider’s even if there’s a lockout next season.

http://thestar.blogs.com/thespin/2012/06/canucks-dont-yet-hold-all-the-cards.html