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| Luongo had a 2.41 GAA, .919 save percentage this season. (Getty Images) |
There has been plenty of speculation about Roberto Luongo being traded and that only amped up when Canucks coach Alain Vigneault confirmed the rumors his goaltender wanted out of Vancouver.
Among potential teams, there is a short list of ones that would seem to make the most sense and according to one supposed Canucks insider, the Maple Leafs are about to see it through.
A well-placed source told NHL Beat that a deal that would send Roberto Luongo to the Toronto Maple Leafs is "90% done", and will be completed by the draft, if not free agency.
It is unknown at the time what the Canucks would be receiving in return for the star goaltender, who has already publicly stated that he would be willing to waive his no-trade-clause.
Before we go any further, note that the plausibility of this rumor happening seems high. The Leafs badly need help in goal, their GM Brian Burke knows Vancouver having been the GM there once upon a time and Luongo reportedly wants out. Thus you have the ingredients to look like a successful rumor.
As for the source? Well Canucks Army, a team blog, seems to find him plenty credible. Just a sample of the evidence as to why: "This isn't some dude guessing about what the Canucks are going to do, this is a kid who had Sulzer and Hodgson heading to Buffalo in exchange for Gragnani and Kassian thirty minutes before any mainstream outlets were reporting it. He correctly had Sulzer in the trade damn it -- so you know he wasn't just guessing."
With all that said, the men involved on both sides have denied anything going down -- that would be Burke and Canucks GM Mike Gillis. Of course, we know that means next to nothing, their denials.
The notion seems to make a lot of sense before you even get to the rumor here. But you never know either with the source or it actually going down.
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