Toronto Maple Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke told TVA Sports that he has not had serious discussions with the Vancouver Canucks about acquiring goalie Roberto Luongo.
There has not been significant discussion (with the Canucks) about that player.
That doesn’t mean Burke won’t end up doing so with Canucks general manager Mike Gillis.
David Nonis, the Leafs’ senior vice president of hockey operations, said during an interview on the Fan 590 that the club will explore the trade market to look for a goalie.
From a Leafs standpoint, we need to make sure that we backfill and have some depth there so that we have some quality goaltenders to pick from. Yes, we’ll look at (unrestricted free agency), we’ll probably jump in for a couple pieces, but overall we’re going to approach the trade market as a primary source of improvement.
As Sportsnet’s Luke Fox points out, reports in April suggested that the Leafs are on a short list of teams to which Luongo would okay a trade.
Because of that, speculation continues to surround what the Maple Leafs may have to give up in order to acquire Luongo. Some in the media have suggested that names the Maple Leafs’ fifth overall pick in this years Entry Draft, along with the likes of Jake Gardiner and Luke Schenn may have to go the other way.
It remains to be seen whether the Maple Leafs make a play for Luongo.
Mathias Brunet of La Presse wonders if the Canucks will end up finding a taker for Luongo and his $5.3 million cap hit for the next 10 years.
