Kevin Lowe criticized Brian Burke for his tenure as Vancouver GM, saying that the team would have been in the cellar a long time ago had Dave Nonis not conned the Panthers out of Roberto Luongo. I think he’s right, and this is one of the most lopsided deals since I’ve followed hockey.

There’s no excuse for giving up Luongo for Bertuzzi. It’s true that Bertuzzi had scored 95 points three seasons before the deal, but his scoring had clearly declined somewhat by 2006. Worse yet, his value was further diminished because he was being booed in every arena including Vancouver due the Steve Moore incident.

Luongo was already established as one of the best goalies in the league, and was clearly in his prime. It’s true that Florida was trying to trade him because he had one year left on his contract and wasn’t going to re-sign, but surely they could have aimed higher...

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