Other Goalie Options for Canucks

Roberto Luongo will officially be the Vancouver Canucks starting goalie for the 2013/14 NHL season- after the dubious decision to trade away Cory Schneider for 1st round draft prospect Bo Horvat at this years NHL draft has been seen by many as either clever bargaining or outright insanity by GM Mike Gillis!

Now I've beaten up on Bobby a few times in this year I have no doubts if I ever return to British Columbia- he will be on the look out for me! So he will be staying for the foreseable future, it would be nice to see what backup options could aid him this season since the only other goalies on our roster come in the form of Swede Eddie Lack who has yet to make an NHL appearence and equally unexperienced Joe Cannata. So who would make good back up in net this to rest our worrying minds?

Here are the best UFA goalies currently on offer,

• Tim Thomas: The 39 year old is now officially a free agent after his release from the New York Islanders this year. Thomas is a Stanley Cup winner with the Boston Bruins back in 2011 and has played over 378 NHL games. Experience like this doesnt come along often and on a one year contract this could provide exactly the cover we need in net- though his high salary could be a stumbling block. 
• Jose Theodore: This 36 year old Canadian keeper has played over 648 NHL games in career spanning over 19 years and has taken in stints at the Montreal Canadians, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Washington Capitals and nost recently Florida Panthers. Theodore was a Hart Trophy winner in 2002 and also has over 286 career wins which is a very impressive number. Again quality like this will be needed in net here and he would give Luongo great competition.
• Mathieu Garon: The Tampa Bay Lightning goalie is a UFA this year and the 35 year old also has great experience to offer us with 12 years in the NHL playing for 6 different teams. Though his record of 139 wins and 122 losses is far less than the other established candidates. But Garon has still impressed during his career and would make a good backup (albeit a cost effective one).
• Ilya Brzygalov: The Russian goalie's stint at the Philadelphia Flyers last year didnt quite go to plan as he was bought out of his nine year contract worth $51 Million after only two seasons! His form whilst playing for Phoenix made him one the most sought after keepers in the NHL and who knows the Canucks could be the place for him to restart his stalled career- but with a salary that size, this could cause problems in the dressing room and management probably isnt keen on having two high priced goalies- though at only 33 his career has yet to hit its peak!