Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

The Flyers are interested in Roberto Luongo

Los Angeles Kings v Vancouver Canucks - Game One

VANCOUVER, CANADA - APRIL 11: Goalie Roberto Luongo #1 of the Vancouver Canucks dives for the loose puck during the first period in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Arena on April 11, 2012 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

Rich Lam

If you thought the Roberto Luongo-to-Toronto rumors were getting hot, you might want to buckle up.

TVA’s Enrico Ciccone tweeted earlier today that the Philadelphia Flyers were interested in picking up Luongo and that rumor was confirmed by TSN’s James Duthie this evening.

What to make of all this? Not much right now other than another team apparently getting in the hunt for the likely soon-to-be Canucks star goalie. Before the lockout, rumors swirled about the Florida Panthers and Chicago Blackhawks being involved in the hunt for Luongo, but those teams didn’t have a goalie signed to a long-term, big money deal the way the Flyers do.

Oh yeah, Ilya Bryzgalov is still the Flyers’ goalie and he has eight years left on his contract with the team at $5.6 million per year. With each team having two compliance buyouts coming after this season is over, it’s possible some team could/would buy out Bryz.

Then again, as Duthie says, the rumor doesn’t mean the Flyers will acquire Luongo, it just means they’ve asked about him. Can we get the CBA fully ratified so silly season can begin in earnest?

Update: Philly.com’s Frank Seravalli spoke with Flyers GM Paul Holmgren and his take on the rumor is pretty fantastic. “That made me chuckle. Safe to say they aren’t true. They have no basis or merit.”

Another update: Adrian Dater of the Denver Post says to not believe the Flyers’ disinterest and adds that the Canucks would ask for Niklas Grossmann in a deal for Luongo. Failing that they’d ask for Schenn. We’ll assume he means Luke Schenn. Gee, this couldn’t just be an effort by the Canucks to drive up the price for a guy they almost have to trade, could it?

Related

Meanwhile, Ilya Bryzgalov wants to play a lot this year