Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo looks on during the singing of the national anthems before Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoff against the Boston Bruins in Vancouver, British Columbia, June 4, 2011.Reuters
He speaks.
Vancouver Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo gave his first interview of the summer on Friday with The Fox in Vancouver, and he candidly addressed the likelihood of being traded and a couple potential destinations.
As for potentially returning to Vancouver, the 33-year-old all-star made that sound very unlikely.
"I would never say never. You never know," Luongo said. "But I think we all know what's going on. We've all seen what's developed. At the end of the day, I think it's time to move on. And I'm okay with that.
"I had a great six years in Vancouver. I think it's a wonderful city. I really enjoyed my time there. Unfortunately, I was not able to bring a Stanley Cup there, which is probably my biggest regret. But it'll be remembered for six great years."
Note the use of past tense.
As for where he's willing to go, Luongo wouldn't say precisely, although there was plenty of talk about Florida, where he played the first half of his career and makes his off-season home.
It's widely believed that Luongo's preferred choice is to rejoin the Panthers, although he said he hasn't discussed teams with Canucks GM Mike Gillis in any great detail and sounded open to other destinations like Chicago.
As for his replacement in Vancouver, Luongo was very complimentary of his understudy Cory Schneider.
"Cory, we've all seen what he's done in Vancouver the last couple of years," Luongo said. "He's a tremendous talent. I think the main thing that I like about him is that he's a got a great head on his shoulders. He's the type of guy that's going to be able to handle the job and handle that market. He's going to be a star in this League, there's no question about that, and he's going to probably win a few Vezinas."