The entire offseason for the Vancouver Canucks has centered on goalie Roberto Luongo. Once again the team's No. 1 guy, many questioned whether the veteran would actually return to the team that at one point had given up on him. Luongo's relationship with Vancouver could be described as shaky at best. However, as preparation for the 2013 season is set to begin soon, head coach John Tortorella promises Luongo is ready to play.
Luongo had no plans on being in Vancouver this coming year. Waiting to hear where he would be traded to, the veteran was instead told that Cory Schneider had been traded and he would return as the starting goalie. Reportedly mulling over his options, Luongo is ready to return and compete.
Tortorella tells the Vancouver Sun that he and Luongo have had multiple discussions with one another about the season ahead. After numerous reports surfaced that Luongo was still not happy about the idea of playing for the Canucks again, the head coach wanted to get a look into the goalie's mind and find out where he truly was in all of this.
"I don't want to get into specifics, but I have talked to Roberto four times. In fact, I just talked to him yesterday. I'll tell you, from talking with him he has told me he is working very hard as far as conditioning and getting ready for this season," Tortorella said. "He knows there is a lot of talk and probably a lot of questions coming his way with how it all unfolded here. I think he's prepared for that and the bottom line is he told me "I just want to play." I think that is the most important thing, if there is some conflict or you are unhappy about certain things, the bottom line is and he understands it, is that he is playing for his teammates. Those are the most important people."
Tortorella understands that Luongo is a key member of the Canucks veteran core. However, the head coach would ideally like to see some of the younger players step up and take the spots of the more experienced players. He thinks that will build healthy competition and new discipline for the team.
"And there's no question when I look at the roster we need to get younger. I am going to give the kids as long a shot as I possibly can. I want kids in the lineup. I hope they take other people's jobs. It's certainly not going to be given to them because we don't want to hurt the kids either. We need to be smart about our decision-making and not force-feed," Tortorella said.
Tortorella has had several conversations with players like Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler. He encouraged by the attitude of the players and is ready for training camp.
