As you are already quite aware, we are both huge Luongo fans. I'm quite certain Ricky may even have some Luongo stuff from when he was an Islander. Needless to say we were both extremely excited when he came to Vancouver and on numerous occasions have had his back when the rest of the market seemingly wanted him gone... I do mean numerous. We'd both be extremely sad to see the best goalie this franchise as ever seen traded away, but that's not the focus here.

Not taking anything away from Cory Schneider, because the kid was phenomenal this year. But if you really think about which guy is going to get moved in the off-season, it makes more sense for it to be him.

The Canucks are a team, just one year removed from a Stanley Cup birth and still have the talent around here for the next 2 to 3 years to get back there, and win it.

While Schneider has passed every single test thrown his way, he still has yet to be "the guy" and going from 30 games to upwards of 60 is a big step for a young goalie. While he very well may conquer this test as well, there is a distinct possibility that being the every day guy will take a year or two for him to get used to. In that scenario you are virtually throwing away at least one season of this ever-decreasing window for the current core of the Canucks to get back to the finals and win.

Meanwhile in Luongo you have a proven number one, who time and time again has proven that he can handle the load and thrive under the insane amount of pressure the fan base here puts on their goalies. Yes, Schneider has witnessed this first hand as the backup, but going through it and being the guy that criticism is often directed at is a lot different. Disagree with this all you want, but you know at some point, just like any other young net minder would, Schneider will struggle and when he does the fans will be all over him. It's happened with every guy who has ever held the position in Vancouver and with the angst here at an all time high, don't expect that to change.

Aside from this, a lot of which is admittedly speculation, there is the unarguable fact that Schneider would fetch far more than Luongo on the market.

If this last season told us anything about the team it is that there are definitely a few more weaknesses than we all thought. Combine that with Hodsgon being dealt away last year, the Canucks once again have a hole to fill at centre on their third line. If Hodgson wasn't good enough to be that guy, do you really think Jordan Schroeder will be given the opportunity to step into that role?

If you keep Schneider, you are taking a chance, however small we all believe it is that he may have a setback this year.

With Luongo we all know what we've got, A guy who can play upwards of 60 games and carry a team all the way to a Stanley Cup and despite what some people may argue, has the ability to win it as well.

If the Canucks were not in a place right now where they expect to be contending for the Stanley Cup every year, there would be no doubt that going with Schneider would be the best and only action to take here. But the fact is they are and to me when you measure these goalies up against each other going into next season, they are basically a saw-off. So why not take that opportunity to trade the guy who is going to bring you the most back in return for him, that you could use to shore up weaknesses on your team to make another run at what we all want, Lord Stanley's Cup.

Makes sense to me.

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