The Waiting is the hardest part

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The length of time that it's taking Vancouver Canuck's GM Mike Gillis to make that long anticipated Roberto Luongo trade, is apparently starting to weigh on the mind of the guy that was supposed to be the Number one guy in Canuck's colours this year.

Or at least, it's weighing on the mind of the guy who represents him, Mike Liut, Corey Schneider's agent offered up the helpful thought, that while not critical of Canuck's GM Mike Gillis, it would be nice if he could bring the migration of Bobby Lou to a successful conclusion.

While paying tribute to Luongo's professionalism, talent and apparent longevity in Canuck colours, Liut did remind everyone that the idea was for Schneider to carry the bulk of the workload this year, having been anointed number one goaltender last season in the midst of the Canucks all be it unsuccessful playoff run.

Yet, with the arrival of this shortened season, it's been the well rested Luongo who has proven the most resilient, providing stellar goaltending and finding that those fickle fans in Vancouver have him as their top Valentine pick this month.

Schneider to his credit, minds to his knitting, putting in the practice time  and tonight stands ready to take to the nets in Minnesota, after Alain Vigneault's magic coin finally flipped his way.

The conventional thinking is that Luongo is still the one who will be moved, perhaps before the April 3rd trading deadline, or  perhaps for dramatic effect, as the feature attraction for the studio panels of TSN and Sportsnet on Deadline Day itself.

Or, maybe just to shake everyone up, the Vancouver GM will entertain some offers on the suddenly returned to back up duties Schneider, some suggest that the value of Schneider on the trade market may be of more benefit to the Canucks than the anchor of Luongo's long term contract.

Regardless, we imagine one of them changes uniforms on or before April 3rd, the Canucks need some help on offence and adding strength to the defensive game is something you can never go wrong with.

Last week, it seemed as though the Canucks were involved in their own personal version of Where in the World is Carmen San Diego, with Mr. Gillis in the role of Carmen, there he was on TV in Washington, with rumours the next day of his arrival in Winnipeg.

From there we heard rumours of sightings in Toronto, Florida or wherever a rink could be found, the destinations popping up as fast as you could punch in GPS requests!

It seems at this point, really more a matter of finding someone to deal with and then pulling the trigger on the deal.

Towards that goal, the National Post's Sean Fitz-Gerald has provided a helpful crib sheet for the Canuck's GM, a road map to the end of the simmering goaltender controversy that never should have been.