BY JAMES HUNT – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
IF.
Two little letters, one vowel and one consonant. Put them together and they form a word that can take you to some strange and wonderful places and in the world of sports the word IF can lead to discussions that can go on forever and ever.
Take for example, the Roberto Luongo situation in Vancouver.
Back in 2009 Roberto Luongo was the MAN in Vancouver.
The Canucks organization were thrilled with his play, they were thrilled that the building was full to capacity night after night and the future was looking very rosy indeed.
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The Sedin twins had signed very user friendly five-year deals earlier in the summer and players like Kesler, Burrows and Bieksa were really rounding into form. There was a “core” and Roberto was at the center of it all.
The Canucks also knew that Luongo only had one year left on a four-year deal and they wanted him to spend the rest of his career in Vancouver. The very idea of letting him test the free agency market was simply not on.
So, the deal was done. Roberto signed his 12-year, $64 million contract in September of 2009.
We all know what has happened since that fateful day back in 2009. There have been many many highs and many many lows and most hockey fans know what has taken place over the past few years with Roberto and the Canucks.
Which brings us back to, IF.
What IF Roberto Luongo hadn’t signed on the dotted line back in 2009.
Imagine IF he had decided to play out the remainder of his deal in the 2009/10 season and then test the free agency market.
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In all likelihood the Canucks would have had struggles with their goaltending. After all goalies like Luongo do not grow on trees. In the 2008/09 season the Canucks backup was Curtis Sanford, in the 2009/10 season it was Andrew Raycroft. It wasn’t until the 2010/11 season that Cory Schneider took over as the full time back up.
IF Luongo had tested out free agency in the summer of 2010 does Cory Schneider get the starting gig? Do the Canucks bring in another starter? Obviously we will never know, but suffice it to say, goaltending issues in Vancouver could have been a LOT murkier than they are today (and that’s saying a lot).
What about the rest of the team? IF Luongo doesn’t sign his long term deal do other players want to re-sign with the team? What about free agents? Do they want to come to a team that has just lost a guy of Roberto’s stature? What about the fans? Do they continue to fill up the arena night after night if Roberto has “left the building”?
What about management and ownership? How would the fans in Vancouver and the press have reacted if the Canucks brain trust couldn’t work out a deal for this core player?
Obviously we will never ever know what might have happened IF Roberto hadn’t signed that $64 million deal back in September of 2009.
Bottom line, when Roberto signed that contract he received long term financial stability, he was very happy to be playing in Vancouver and his family was very happy about the situation too.
For his part, all Luongo had to do was continue to be the best goalie in town and the gig was his for the foreseeable future.
IF only that had happened.