Verfasst: 12. Aug 2005 13:17
Panthers, Luongo duel over contractMr._Hockey hat geschrieben:Spoor lag ja schon so oft richtig. Ich glaube das erst wenns bei Hockeyfans oder so steht!
By Brian Biggane
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 12, 2005
The Panthers have elected to walk on thin ice with their franchise goaltender.
After two days of fruitless negotiations with Gilles Lupien, the agent for Roberto Luongo, General Manager Mike Keenan said Thursday he had filed to take Luongo to arbitration.
The move clearly upset Luongo, who called it "disrespectful," and could move him closer to choosing unrestricted free agency when he becomes eligible in two years.
"In a way it's kind of disrespectful for a team to send you to arbitration after you've worked so hard for them over the last few years," Luongo said.
The date of the arbitration hearing, which will take place between Aug. 22 and Sept. 1, will be set today. Both sides will make a presentation with an offer, and the arbitrator will pick either offer or a number in between.
Lupien said he initially sought a five-year deal at about $4 million per year. He said the Panthers countered with an offer of about $3.4 million, and at first were interested for one year and later for two.
"I said, 'Why do we want to sign for two years at a real low price?' " Lupien asked. "They said it would give them a chance to get a better idea about their team before going forward.
"I don't understand. This is a time when all the teams are trying to lock up their star players for a long time."
Keenan seemed satisfied that, at the very least, the arbitration process will ensure that Luongo will have a signed contract and be ready for the start of training camp.
"We tried a lot of different scenarios, and we just couldn't find the middle ground," he said. "This is what the process is all about, to come to a fair and balanced figure for that particular individual at this point in his career. It takes any personal aspect out of it from both sides."
Perhaps, and perhaps not. The first player to take the Panthers to arbitration was goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck in 1997. Vanbiesbrouck sat through the hearing and spoke later of his humiliation at listening to team representatives try to diminish his accomplishments, which included a standout performance in the Stanley Cup playoffs the year before. He left as a free agent a year later.
Keenan said the process has changed, with lawyers representing both sides, and it's unlikely Luongo will go through a similar experience. But clearly some damage has been done.
"Everybody in Florida knows what kind of guy (Roberto) is," Lupien said. "Now he's starting to say, 'Hey, what's going on here?'"
"Obviously there were different scenarios available to me," Luongo said. "But I would've thought they would have tried a little bit harder to lock me up long term."
Lupien said he felt the $4 million figure was reasonable after Chicago signed Nikolai Khabibulin for four years at $6.75 million last week. He also noted the three-year, $25 million deal Joe Thornton signed with Boston Thursday.
"That's the group of players he should be in," Lupien said. "But they're offering about half of that. It's impossible for us to sign."
Lupien said he even offered to seek a trade to another team that would pay his client what he deserves.
"Maybe I'm too much in love with the player, but I don't think he's half (the player) those guys are."
Luongo, 26, set NHL records for saves (2,303) and shots faced (2,475) in 2003-04. He has represented Canada in the past three World Championships and has been invited to an Olympic training camp beginning Saturday in Vancouver. He played in his first All-Star Game in 2004.
In other news, the Panthers announced restricted free agents Stephen Weiss and Kristian Huselius had accepted their qualifying offers. Weiss will earn $610,000 and Huselius $1.2 million next season.