The Luongo and the short of it
Aug 26, 2005 13:13:27 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Aug 26, 2005 13:13:27 GMT -5
26-08-2005
The arbiter divides the pie in half;
Luongo did not want a long-term contract
Mathias Brunet
La Presse
Roberto Luongo intends to be present at the Panthers' training camp without any moaning and groaning, or trade demands, even if he is disappointed at the turn contract negotiations took with his club.
A arbiter yesterday granted him $3.2M, while his side asked for $4.2M and the Panthers didn't want to pay him more than $2.3M.
"It's not the salary that disappoints me, but the way it happened," he confided yesterday after a practice in Rosemère under the supervision of goalie coach François Allaire. "I was a little disappointed to see that my case was going to be subject to arbitration. It was the last thing I believed would happen, especially since they kept saying that they wanted to build the club around me and they often asked me to promote the team."
Mike Keenan, the Panthers' GM, prevailed upon a new clause in the CBA which makes it possible for the clubs to resort to arbitration.
The outstanding performances by Luongo these past few seasons were worth a position on the powerful Canadian team (behind Martin Brodeur) but the Panthers' lawyers explained to the judge that he had never succeeded in bringing his club into the playoffs and that his GAAs for the three last years (2.43 in 2003-2004, 2.71 the previous season and 2.77 two years earlier) weren't dazzling.
They however probably did not refer to his save % (.931) and to the number of games that he played last year for the Panthers, two significant categories where he was among the top 3 in the NHL.
"Everyone in the hockey world knows that he is one of best in the NHL," his agent Gilles Lupien commented yesterday. "Indirectly, what hey told us today is that if you play for a lousy team, you don't get paid. A goalie must from now on join a winning team if he wants to be paid his true worth. Roberto is paying the price for the team's poor management."
Luongo and his advisors could have avoided this situation if they had accepted an offer of $25M for five years, tendered by Keenan Tuesday evening (the latter nevertheless had already initiated the arbitration process), but the 26 year old goalie did not want to sign long-term with Panthers, at least not immediately.
"I did not want to sign a five year contract because I don't yet know in what direction the team is going. Yes, they got some players this summer, but I did not want to find myself in an identical situation three years from now—not having reached the playoffs."
Gilles Lupien does not however dismiss the possibility of negotiating a long-term agreement with the Panthers after January 1, the date on which the two parties will be able to talk again.
"If you close doors, that's always bad negotiating. On the other hand, it's hard to take 50, 55 or 60 shots almost every game while your club scores one or two goals. It's difficult physically and psychologically. This winter he phoned me to say that he didn't think that he could take it any more. We will follow the situation and will see whether the team improves. His wife is from Florida, he has a house there; nobody wants to change teams just for the hell of it."
Lupien expects that Keenan will receive many offers for his goalie during the winter "At this price, Roberto will be the player most in demand this year. All the teams will want to have him. At $3.2M, the Canadiens could trade their goalkeeper tomorrow morning! It's not the bargain of the year, it's the bargain of the century!"
Luongo certainly does not expect to be on the Canadiens even if some rumours about that circulated a few weeks ago.
"These rumours, I do not understand them. Théo will earn more money than me and I don't see why Panthers would want to pay him twice as much as me."
- texte français original
The arbiter divides the pie in half;
Luongo did not want a long-term contract
Mathias Brunet
La Presse
Roberto Luongo intends to be present at the Panthers' training camp without any moaning and groaning, or trade demands, even if he is disappointed at the turn contract negotiations took with his club.
A arbiter yesterday granted him $3.2M, while his side asked for $4.2M and the Panthers didn't want to pay him more than $2.3M.
"It's not the salary that disappoints me, but the way it happened," he confided yesterday after a practice in Rosemère under the supervision of goalie coach François Allaire. "I was a little disappointed to see that my case was going to be subject to arbitration. It was the last thing I believed would happen, especially since they kept saying that they wanted to build the club around me and they often asked me to promote the team."
Mike Keenan, the Panthers' GM, prevailed upon a new clause in the CBA which makes it possible for the clubs to resort to arbitration.
The outstanding performances by Luongo these past few seasons were worth a position on the powerful Canadian team (behind Martin Brodeur) but the Panthers' lawyers explained to the judge that he had never succeeded in bringing his club into the playoffs and that his GAAs for the three last years (2.43 in 2003-2004, 2.71 the previous season and 2.77 two years earlier) weren't dazzling.
They however probably did not refer to his save % (.931) and to the number of games that he played last year for the Panthers, two significant categories where he was among the top 3 in the NHL.
"Everyone in the hockey world knows that he is one of best in the NHL," his agent Gilles Lupien commented yesterday. "Indirectly, what hey told us today is that if you play for a lousy team, you don't get paid. A goalie must from now on join a winning team if he wants to be paid his true worth. Roberto is paying the price for the team's poor management."
Luongo and his advisors could have avoided this situation if they had accepted an offer of $25M for five years, tendered by Keenan Tuesday evening (the latter nevertheless had already initiated the arbitration process), but the 26 year old goalie did not want to sign long-term with Panthers, at least not immediately.
"I did not want to sign a five year contract because I don't yet know in what direction the team is going. Yes, they got some players this summer, but I did not want to find myself in an identical situation three years from now—not having reached the playoffs."
Gilles Lupien does not however dismiss the possibility of negotiating a long-term agreement with the Panthers after January 1, the date on which the two parties will be able to talk again.
"If you close doors, that's always bad negotiating. On the other hand, it's hard to take 50, 55 or 60 shots almost every game while your club scores one or two goals. It's difficult physically and psychologically. This winter he phoned me to say that he didn't think that he could take it any more. We will follow the situation and will see whether the team improves. His wife is from Florida, he has a house there; nobody wants to change teams just for the hell of it."
Lupien expects that Keenan will receive many offers for his goalie during the winter "At this price, Roberto will be the player most in demand this year. All the teams will want to have him. At $3.2M, the Canadiens could trade their goalkeeper tomorrow morning! It's not the bargain of the year, it's the bargain of the century!"
Luongo certainly does not expect to be on the Canadiens even if some rumours about that circulated a few weeks ago.
"These rumours, I do not understand them. Théo will earn more money than me and I don't see why Panthers would want to pay him twice as much as me."
- texte français original
