Luongo on possibility of playing in Toronto: “It’s something I can handle”

Where will Roberto Luongo be traded? What will Roberto Luongo be traded for? Wait…will Roberto Luongo even be traded?

The questions are plentiful; the answers at this point, not so much.

Such is the level of interest among Maple Leafs fans that the Toronto Sun sent a reporter to Coral Springs, Florida, where Luongo was practicing today (in a Canucks jersey) with goalie coach Francois Allaire.

#Luongo says he has given #Canucks GM Mike Gillis the "green light" to do whatever he needs."

—
Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) January 07, 2013

More #Luongo: says he could handle playing in Toronto if it comes to that. #Leafs

—
Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) January 07, 2013

Roberto Luongo on the prospects of being a #Leaf: “It’s not something that would be knew to me. It’s something I can handle.”

—
Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) January 07, 2013

As for prospect of being with #Leafs, #Luongo said he thinks "other teams are in the mix."

—
Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) January 07, 2013

The idea that Luongo would be scared to go to a hockey-mad market like Toronto has always seemed laughable to us. The 33-year-old has started the two highest-pressure games that exist – he won the gold-medal game for Canada in 2010; he lost Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals for Vancouver. Call him a choker all you want — he’s had nightmare outings — but most goalies don’t even get the opportunity to choke in big games because they’re not good enough to get to them.

Meanwhile, in Toronto, Leafs coach Randy Carlyle was asked about his current net-minding tandem of James Reimer and Ben Scrivens.

“We have NHL caliber goaltending,” said Carlyle, echoing GM Brian Burke’s past statements on the issue.

Meanwhile, in Vancouver, Canucks GM Mike Gillis was asked Sunday about his Luongo conundrum.

Predictably, Gillis wasn’t willing to say much: “Until (the CBA) gets ratified we are not talking trade with any other teams. We’re not going to do anything until we see a collective agreement that’s ratified, that’s approved by the players and ratified by the owners. At that point, we’ll begin to move forward on a variety of different fronts we’ve been thinking about.”

Gillis has said in the past that he’s more than willing to keep Luongo and have him share the goaltending load with Cory Schneider. Which would be…interesting.

“I’m open to a lot of ideas right now,” Luongo said. “I don’t want to corner myself, especially since I might have to start the season in Vancouver or play the whole season there. Who knows.”

He added: ““I’m prepared right now to go up to Vancouver and start training camp. Unless Mike tells me otherwise, I’m ready to go, I’m excited. I miss being around the guys.”

As for other possible destinations:

—- Florida. Believed to be Luongo’s first choice for family reasons. The Canucks have reportedly expressed interest in Panthers prospect Nick Bjugstad. This makes sense, as Bjugstad is a very good prospect. Probably too good for the Panthers to give up.

—- Columbus. In case you missed it, the Blue Jackets struggled between the pipes last season. But would Luongo waive his no-trade clause to go to Columbus? (No offense to Columbus.)

—- Chicago. Can you imagine? Whatever Blackhawks fans may think of it, Luongo gives their team a better chance to win than Corey Crawford.

—- Edmonton. Even if the Oilers were interested, would Vancouver management consider trading Luongo to a division rival? Especially a division rival that’s on its way to becoming an elite team.