Finally, it appears that Roberto Luongo is getting his wish: a return to South Florida. Numbers Game looks into the deal sending Luongo back to Florida, leaving the Canucks with a decidedly different goaltending picture than they had one year ago. The Panthers Get: G Roberto Luongo and LW Steven Anthony. Luongo, 34, has been a strong starting goaltender for a long time. Even this season, as he has been dealing with a challenge for playing time from Eddie Lack, Luongo has a .917 save percentage, which ranks 16th out of 37 goaltenders to play in at least 25 games this season. Over the past four seasons, Luongos even-strength save percentage (.929) ranks sixth among goaltenders with at least 5000 minutes played. Now, that Luongo has been effective to this point is no great secret, but the question is how long he will remain an effective starter. Hes under contract, at a cap hit of $5.333M per season, through 2021-2022 and its pretty easy to forecast that Luongo wont be playing at such a high level at that point. Can he be an above-average starter through 37 or 38-years-old? That would probably be the best-case scenario. Aside from Luongos level of play, there is some value to his contract for the Panthers. Even with the Canucks picking up a portion of the contract, Florida is a team that, to this point, has faced more challenges getting to the floor than staying under the cap. If that means that five years from now their backup goaltender costs more than $5-million, then it may not be a huge issue. Where the finances get especially tricky is if Luongo retires before the end of his contract, because it is a prime candidate for the recapturing device implemented in the latest collective bargaining agreement and, according to Cap Geek, the Canucks could face a hefty cap hit if Luongo doesnt play out his entire deal. So, taking a step past the financial ramifications and getting back on the ice, the Panthers have upgraded their goaltending and for a team with improving possession numbers, an above average goaltender could be enough to put them back in the playoff hunt as soon as next season. Anthony is a 22-year-old winger who has been buried in the low minors, scoring 45 points in 108 games between the ECHL and CHL over the past three seasons. He played junior with Jonathan Huberdeau, but Anthony is too far away from the NHL to think thats going to be a factor that will increase his stature in the organization. The Canucks Get: G Jacob Markstrom and C Shawn Matthias. Markstrom is a 24-year-old who has long been considered a top prospect since he was the 31st overall pick in 2008, but there have been some bumps in the road that have put his future into question. In 43 career games, Markstrom has an .898 save percentage. Since 2005-2006, that ranks 88th out of 105 goaltenders with at least 40 games played, numbers brought down by an abysmal start (.874 SV% in 12 GP) to this season. Since he was returned to the AHL, Markstrom has posted a .918 save percentage in 29 games and has a .917 save percentage in 131 career AHL games, which is decent enough to get another look in the NHL, particularly with a new team that has an opening on the NHL roster. Markstrom currently has to be considered behind Eddie Lack on the depth chart. 26-year-old Lack, who has a .924 save percentage in 25 games this season, isnt nearly established enough in the starters role that the job wont be up for a more open competition in the future. Markstrom has the pedigree and was the starter for Brynas IF Gavle in the Swedish Elite League in 2009-2010, when Lack was his backup. Matthias, 26, is a 6-foot-4 centre who teases every so often (like scoring five points in the past two games, or tying for second on the Panthers with 14 goals last season) with occasional offensive ability, but he hasnt been terribly productive, scoring 97 points in 312 career games. His puck possession stats have been subpar even while facing lesser opposition. With the Canucks apparently heading toward rebuilding, there should be some opportunity for Matthias to play regular minutes and establish whether or not hes a legitimate top-nine forward. To this point in his career, the answer to that very much depends on the day. Matthias is under contract through next season with a cap hit of $1.75-million. In the end, the Canucks have precious little to show for what was once one of the games top goaltending tandems. A year ago, they had Cory Schneider and Luongo, now both are gone and the Canucks have Matthias and a couple of prospects (Markstrom and ninth overall pick Bo Horvat) in return. If the Canucks take a hit on the salary cap because of recapture five or six years down the road, well, thats just a bitter aftertaste to a situation that hasnt been very pleasant for the past couple seasons anyway. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys . Luke Wileman and I stood in the corridor outside of the Vancouver Whitecaps dressing room at BC Place in Vancouver. Joe Carter Jersey . The CFL unveiled its 2014 schedule Wednesday and the Redblacks will play their first-ever regular-season game in Winnipeg against the Blue Bombers on July 3. http://www.officialbluejaysjerseysonline...jersey/.Manager Brendan Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo on Friday that Sturridge pulled his calf muscle in training as he prepared to return from a five-week layoff due to a thigh strain. Josh Donaldson Jersey . The motion to expand the stadiums capacity passed through by a count of 39-3, with Toronto mayor Rob Ford being among those in opposition. Justin Smoak Jersey .com) - Klay Thompson is quickly proving he is worth every penny of his recently signed four-year contract extension.TORONTO -- David Clarkson wouldnt blame John Scott or anyone else. Not this time. More than 48 hours after leaving the bench to enter the line brawl between his Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres to come to the defence of teammate Phil Kessel, a contrite Clarkson accepted his automatic, 10-game suspension even while justifying his actions. "Im a grown man and Im going to take this one for what I did and be held accountable," Clarkson said. "Im not appealing it. Im going to take it, and Im going to work hard to get back." Clarkson broke his silence after playing in the Leafs 3-2 pre-season loss to the Ottawa Senators, apologizing for not addressing the situation before. The 29-year-old right-winger said he wanted to wait to get official word from the NHL about the suspension and then didnt want to be a distraction on a game day. It was another case of Clarkson trying to do what he figured was right for the team. When he did that Sunday night upon seeing Sabres tough guy John Scott going after Kessel, it got him into this mess that will cost him almost $270,000. "I think I sometimes make decisions with my heart, not my head," Clarkson said. "I saw a teammate that I felt was in trouble, and my reaction was to help. You can have many different opinions, but that was my mind-set going in. I was just going there to go to help and settle things down. That was the intent." Teammates admired Clarksons intent, so much so that he said everyone in the locker room expressed support for sticking up for Kessel. There was no hesitation in leaving the bench to leap to the aid of someone Clarkson has only called a teammate since July. It was simply a gut instinct, albeit a very costly one. "Its like if you have a little brother and you feel like hes in trouble or you feel like theres a situation you can get out and help," Clarkson said. "That was the feeling I had in my belly. I had feeling to do something, and Ive got to pay the consequences for it. That was the feeling, it was to go out aand to try and help or to calm down a situation and now Ill serve my 10 games and come back better for it.dddddddddddd" Clarkson never conceded regret about a "split-second" decision. He never said the result would have been different if he had to replay the incident over again. "The part that sucks is that Im missing these games," he said. "But at the same time I think defending teammates is something thats just in me. Its what Ive done my whole life and I think that the 10 games thing obviously is tough to swallow, but when theres rules out there in place, youve got to abide by them." Coach Randy Carlyle, whom Clarkson said has been "supportive" since the brawl happened and the suspension was handed down, called the rationale "more of an old-time hockey explanation." Clarkson brings the kind of tools that make him a throwback player, but this wasnt what the Leafs signed up for when they gave him a seven-year, US$36.75-million contract. But Carlyle said earlier Tuesday that he can sense the "burning desire" Clarkson has to make a difference. Its one he wont be able to do on the ice until Torontos 11th game Oct. 25 at the Columbus Blue Jackets. "Ill say sorry to the fans or anybody whos disappointed, but I was going out there and what I felt like (was) my teammates in here are first to me," Clarkson said. "Thats whats gotten me to where I am in my career, thats why I believe Im here. I think thats just the person I am. If anyone was in trouble in here, I would try to go to help and that was what I did." Until he can make his regular-season debut, Clarkson resigned himself to being "the biggest cheerleader" he can be. Oct. 25 feels "very far" away. "This is one of the toughest things Ive been through in my career, especially being excited to be somewhere, just getting used to things," he said. "But no one in life is perfect, and when you make a mistake youve got to live up to it and deal with it." Jerseys NFL CheapWholesale Jerseys ChinaWholesale NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys CamoCheap NFL T-shirtsCheap NFL Black JerseysCheap Jerseys 2020 ' ' '