Roberto Luongo is headed back to the Florida Panthers after a Tuesday trade with the Vancouver Canucks involving Jacob Markström, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Luongo was the Panthers' goalie from 2000-2006 before he was traded to the Canucks in a blockbuster multiplayer deal. At the time, Luongo was surprised by the trade as he had been working on a contract extension with the Panthers, per a ESPN report.
After the trade, Luongo went on to sign a four-year deal with the Canucks instead and has played there ever since.
Currently Luongo is in the midst of a 12-year contract that he signed with Vancouver back in 2009, according to Reuters. That contract is valued at $64 million and runs through 2022. The Canucks are expected to include cash as part of the trade according to the Sun Sentinel report, though it is unclear how much they will be sending at this point.
As for Markström, he was seen as a potential goalie of the future for the Panthers but could now be a fixture in the net for Vancouver instead. At only 24 years old, there is a lot of unknown and potential for Markström but the Panthers elected to bring in a player they know well in Luongo instead. As the Sentinel pointed out, Markström had been spending most of his time in the American Hockey League this year.
The trade for Luongo comes only a day after the news that longtime president Michael Yormark is leaving the Panthers for a role with Roc Nation.
