5. Roberto Luongo
In order to obtain the Holy Grail of North American ice hockey, the Vancouver Canucks will be leaning on Roberto Luongo for at least one more season. But for the first time it may not be an entire season. Luongo has stated he is open to waiving his no-trade clause, effectively giving the Vancouver Canucks an opportunity to trade himLuongo made no attempt at hiding his disdain that saw the trade seemingly out of left-field, sending last seasons starter Cory Schneider to New Jersey for a 1st round, 9th overall pick. Bo Hovart was selected, the youth bringing his brand of bullish style hockey to a team that critics have said lacks the certain grit and intensity needed in the post-season. That will blossom and conform to the pace of the NHL over time, something Vancouver is running out of. No question that Luongo is a world class goalie, having taken Vancouver to the final game of the season to define a championship team as well as earning a gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. He's the soldier you absolutely have to have in the trenches, but lately he has been questioning the side he has been fighting in the trenches for. According to @tsnjamesduthie: "Luongo: 'I had moved on from Vancouver and was ready to start fresh somewhere else...like a divorce...except she wanted me back. ' Luongo also talks about breaking down after not being dealt at deadline and "blacking out" when he learned VAN had traded Schneider. Luongo also reveals that in May he had serious talks with the NHLPA about the possibility of voiding his deal and walking away from 40m." It's a classic tact to lighten the mood in the locker room by cracking fun at the situation and that's no doubt what will happen when the puck drops in the pre-season. A few of the boys will joke about how Luongo sold his house and is living out of his million dollar sports car now, the hard life if you will. They'll share some laughs but get down to work when they need to, and ultimately playing one more season with the Sedins, Burrows, Kesler, indivudals Luongo has played with for a number of seasons, is not necessarily a bad thing for Luongo.