Stability is nice but...

...signing these mammoth contracts seems kind of unwise.

Yesterday Roberto Luongo signed a 12-year contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks. When the 12 years is up -- he'll be 43-years-old.

There are upsides to the long contract. You're guarenteed a world-class player for the forseeable future, letting the General Manager plan and build around him. In the end, it's probably a financial win for the Canucks because as the salary cap moves upward so do salaries, and you've got him locked into that one. He's your captain. You're giving the fans a franchise player to get behind... etc. etc.

But then there's a number of reasons why long contracts are a pain...

1. On top of the long contract you gave him a No Trade Clause. So if the team ever needs to move him, they're at his mercy. We saw how well that went with Mats Sundin.

2. Even if he agrees to be moved, he's got a giant contract dangling behind him. Most teams don't want to commit to those giant contracts for a player they haven't seen fit into the dressing room yet. Chemistry is a big part of the team. I'm not saying that Roberto Luongo wouldn't fit into a dressing room, but there's a lot of factors at play, and that long contract is certainly a deterrant.

3. What if he gets injured, and is just not as good as he used to be. If he has a career-ending injury he gets paid out by player insurance... but what if it's an injury that just makes him not as mobile, not as quick, but he still plays... eventually riding the bench more and more... or missing chunks of games here and there but not entire seasons... while you're still paying him. That sounds like fun.

4. And finally, there's just a lot of unforseeable things that a team will encounter. Like... What if suddenly there's a new coach in town and said coach and Luongo hate each other (see: Ottawa Senators, Dany Heatley).

I'm still not quite sure whether these contracts are a great idea.

I didn't even know you could do that.

And my day just got a bit stranger.

I was doing a quick one-over of the headlines. I'm completely exhausted and spent the day pouring over a television script. I just got my hands on my first coffee of the day so I figured my eyes were playing tricks on me.

Nope. Roberto Luongo is now the Captain of the Vancouver Canucks.

They announced it today. I google newsed it and sure enough it's there.

Apparently as a goaltender he is not allowed to physically wear the captain's C on his sweater (for whatever reason). Which would explain why I figured it just plain wasn't allowed.

And in fact it hasn't really been that common. The last goaltender to be the captain was Montreal Canadien Bill Durnan of the 1940s. And there were three others ever (says wikipedia).

Canadian Press:

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Canucks have named goaltender Roberto Luongo as their new captain.

Coach Alain Vigneault says Luongo can't wear the C on his jersey because he's a goalie but is permitted to be designated the team's captain.

The team also named three alternates in Ryan Kesler, Mattias Ohlund and Willie Mitchell.

Luongo says he's ready to lead and is excited by the opportunity.

The Canucks were left without a captain after Markus Naslund signed a free agent contract with the New York Rangers in the off-season.

The Swedish forward, whose leadership abilities were often criticized, had worn the C since 2000.

Other Canucks captains have included Mark Messier, Stan Smyl, Orland Kurtenbach and Trevor Linden, who retired this summer.

Ouch.

Okay. I must admit. The opening for the game was SO COOL. If you didn't catch game 3 of the Penguins and Senators series, it was the first home game for Ottawa in the playoffs. It opened with a guy dressed up like a Senator (not the Parliamentary kind). And he gave a Gladiator-esque speech. Although in my head I kept thinking he was giving a "Spartan-esque speech" which would also be known as a speech of knowing doom. "Tonight we dine. ON THE GOLF COURSE!!!!"

On top of all of these theatrics, Daniel Alfredson made his return to the lineup. And it seemed — for a short fleeting moment — that the Senators might make a series out of it. And then the Penguins scored. again. again. and again. I am going to be shocked if Ottawa pulls out the win in game four.

In some Habs news, Tomas Plekanec admitted in an interview scrum today that he "played like a little girl" the last two games. Later coach Guy Carbonneau quipped, "well it wasn't like a little girl". Plekanec has one assist in the last two games.

Dave Nonis was fired as Vancouver Canucks General Manger today. I was watching the TSN hockey panel react to this, and I must admit I agree with Bob MacKenzie. Nonis probably should have had another year to prove himself. He is the engineer behind the steal of the century: Todd Bertuzzi and Alex Auld for star goaltender Roberto Luongo (ok maybe it wasn't the trade of the century, but it was huge). And most of the Canucks defense were injured all year. And the Canucks only missed the playoffs by three points.

And of course there was Avery-gate. If you missed the Rangers and Devils play last night, pest Sean Avery stood facing goaltender Martin Brodeur and waved his stick in Brodeur's face, screening the play. I thought it was hilarious, but it obviously had to be nipped going forward. But I think some people took it a bit too seriously.