Vancouver is simply not going to get a lot for Luongo. If they were, they woulda traded him by now and you'd have more than just the Leafs with real interest (if Florida wanted him he'd be gone already; Edmonton and Philly are noise at best). We're talking about a $5.33M cap hit over the next 10 years, that's not a joke for someone who's gonna be 33 in a couple of months, even if you expect him to retire after 7 or 8.
If the offer Toronto is giving them is true, Bozak and Kadri is likely much more than any other team is gonna give up. Bozak ain't a stiff, he's just not the #1 centre he's being forced to be in Toronto. He's a very good #3 centre, that's his perfect role with his ability to defend and win 55% or so of faceoffs, and can fill in as a #2 for a month or so until Kesler gets back. Can even fill in on the second-unit penalty kill and be out there with your best faceoff man in important, late-game defensive zone situations. He's actually a pretty good fit for you guys. The biggest issue with him is that he's an RFA after this season and will likely command a 3 year deal in the $3M per year or so range. But then again, maybe not with the new CBA, who knows? It'll be interesting to see what happens to mid-level 27 year-olds now.
When you're talking about Kadri, he's never been given a solid chance at all here (look up what Cherry's said about him and Wilson) and may never really get that chance which is kinda sad. On a team like Vancouver, where he can be buried on the 3rd line, he may actually do well. He is a 7th overall pick who's shown he has some skills in the AHL (been doin' well with the Marlies the last couple of years) and even flashes in the NHL as well, with the minimal minutes he's been getting.
So let's say you get those two and a 4th round pick, which is what they might be trying to add now. That's not bad depth for what is a poorly-vieled salary dump. Seriously, don't listen to Gillis, that's all this is, he's just trying to dress it up to gain more value. If he can trick teams into thinking there's more than a minimal market for Luongo, I'd be impressed. Sure, he may hold out 'til April 3rd and hedge his bets with Corey taking over full-time and hope other teams get more desperate, but I think it would be disastrous if they hung on longer than that.
And honestly, as a Canucks fan living in Vancouver (hold on, you moved recently, no?), do you really want Luongo's shadow hanging over Corey? Your media ain't much better than ours in that way, they'd be stirrin' the hornet's nest every chance they got. Imagine Corey gets off to a slow start with Lou sitting there? And I don't care how well the two goalies get along, the lack of cap space you have next year ($55M commited to 13 players; that leaves only $9M for the next 10) by committing $9M to your goaltenders means you can't do jack to help your roster out. Your team is good but they're not good enough to stand pat and add nothing as was proven last year. By getting some depth players and decreasing your payroll in the meantime (you'd trade two forwards and a backup goalie for less cap hit than Luongo) you all of a sudden can take on some salary to add depth for a playoff run since you'd have $10M or so for 8 players. For a team that's OK in its top 6 forwards and top 4 defensemen, that's not bad.
Your dream of getting anyone close to Jake Gardiner's calibre is more than wishful thinking. That contract makes that a hugely unlikely scenario unless you find a super-desperate GM. Considering Nonis was Burke's right-hand man, Gardiner is probably over-valued by the Leafs and no chance you'd get him unless that balloons into a much bigger deal a la Jays-Marlins deal. If you are able to get someone like him, go to a casino and bet it all on black 'cause you'd be unstoppable with that luck :-)
I was there on that fateful day, were you?
