Most of the time when you hear a player complaining about their contract, that player does not feel he is being fairly compensated. That is not the case with Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, but he still hates the deal he has with his team.
Believe it or not, Luongo wishes he did not make so much money and that his financial future was less secure. The 33-year-old watched the NHL trade deadline come and go on Wednesday with him remaining Vancouver’s backup goalie. Luongo badly wanted out of town.
“My contract sucks — that’s what’s the problem,” he told the media Wednesday, via ESPN.com. “I’d scrap it if I could now.”
Luongo has lost his starting job to 27-year-old Cory Schneider, who is tied for seventh in the NHL with a .922 save percentage. That awful contract he is referring to has him signed through the 2022 season at an average annual salary of $5.33 million per season. That sounds like it “sucks” for the Canucks, but most of us would be willing to live with $5 million a year for the next nine years of our lives.
“I think that he was very emotional,” Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Wednesday when asked about Luongo’s comments. “I think these days are emotional for everybody. I think he said that in a highly emotional state. I’d like to give him the opportunity to catch his breath and have a discussion with him.”
Vancouver wants to trade Luongo, but finding a partner is next to impossible given the three-time All-Star’s fall from grace. He was once considered to be one of the best goalies in hockey, but Luongo has since unraveled. He became a punchline for Boston Bruins fans during their team’s Stanley Cup run in 2011 and has not made an impact since. Being stuck sucks, but it’s hard to sympathize with someone who is stuck with $5 million a year.
