A massively divisive deal, akin to Hodgson.
Lu's deal is a noose around their neck, big dollars and only a handful of teams he's willing to move to. Unless Gillis slit his own throat at the deal table Lu was never going anywhere, despite his request to be traded.
Which left Schnieder as the only viable piece to move. Cap space is shrinking and someone had to go.
Devils did well, only giving up a single draft pick (albeit a top 10 pick). Brodeur is not long off retirement (mind you Alfredsson has committed to another season!) and Hedburg is only a year younger, Schnieder is in the box seat to become a legend at a much loved club.
Post-deal Lu refused all media calls, only to say he was shocked and needs to re-assess his situation... whatever that means.
Schnieder too was shocked, but also incredibly excited to work with Brodeur. Being a Boston native it also moves him a lot closer to home.
Myself, I'm pretty ambivalent. Schnieder is a good goalie with the potential to be great, but he was made starter last season and wasn't exactly stellar. But neither was Luongo, though if you really wanted to you could pin his performance down to the uncertainty of his future.
Hopefully this means Lack moves to back up, he's paid his dues in the AHL for 3 years and is a great talent in his own right. Hopefully by the time he's ready to become a starter, Lu is a lot easier to move.
Best thing out of this is Vancouver used their pick to swoop on a prospect Chicago were looking at taking, and expressed their displeasure on twitter. Hope he turns out to be star, because like Kassian he'll forever be tied to a contentious trade.
(oh and Vancouver picked up PK Subban's youngest brother, Jordan, in the 4th round - massive potential there.)
