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Trade tree: The lasting impact of the blockbuster that brought Roberto Luongo to Canucks 20 years ago
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Photo credit: © John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Jeff Paterson
May 12, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: May 11, 2026, 23:25 EDT
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Approaching the 20th anniversary of the Vancouver Canucks acquiring Roberto Luongo on the eve of the 2006 National Hockey League draft, the deal’s trade tree continues to flourish all these years later.
On June 23, 2006, then-general manager Dave Nonis pulled off one of the most significant trades in franchise history, nabbing Luongo, Lukas Krajicek, and a sixth-round selection in that year’s draft, which was held at what was still known at the time as General Motors Place. In exchange, the Canucks sent Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen, Alex Auld and a conditional sixth-round pick the following year to the Florida Panthers.
Luongo backstopped the best-ever version of the Canucks to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final as part of a Hall of Fame career. Looking back now, however, it’s fascinating to see how the Luongo to the Canucks trade tree has branched out two decades later. 
Krajicek played two seasons in Vancouver before being pedalled to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Shane O’Brien on October 5, 2008. Two years later, O’Brien was moved to Nashville for Ryan Parent, who played four games for the Canucks in the 2010-11 season. O’Brien, meanwhile, went on to make stops in Colorado, Calgary and Florida before winding down his playing days in Europe.
The sixth-round pick the Canucks acquired in the Luongo deal became Sergei Shirokov, who played eight games over two seasons and scored one goal. In July 2011, Shirokov was sent to Florida for Mike Duco, who appeared in six games for the Canucks in 2011-12 before bouncing around a variety of minor leagues and spending a couple of seasons playing professionally overseas.
On the Florida side, the Bertuzzi experiment did not pan out. Two years removed from the Steve Moore incident and looking for a fresh start, the 30-year-old power forward got off to an incredible start in Florida, scoring once and adding three assists in his Panther debut. As it turned out, however, Berutzzi played just six more games and managed only three more points before back issues kept him out of action for three months. In the end, Bertuzzi played just seven games for the Panthers before he was sent to Detroit less than a year after leaving Vancouver. Interestingly, Bertuzzi was shipped to the Red Wings in exchange for a 2007 second-round draft pick along with Shawn Matthias, who would eventually wind up in Vancouver as part of Luongo’s drawn-out departure years later. At that stage, Matthias was merely a second-round selection of Detroit drafted in 2006, the day after Luongo had been dealt to the Canucks. Detroit later traded the other second-round pick it had acquired from Florida to Nashville, and the Predators used the selection on versatile forward Nick Spaling.
After a few seasons in Music City, Spaling was moved to Pittsburgh along with Patric Hornqvist for James Neal. Later, Spaling was shipped to Toronto as part of a package that included Kasperi Kapanen for Phil Kessel. That deal also included a 2016 first-round pick that was later sent from Toronto to Anaheim in exchange for Frederik Andersen. The Ducks used the first rounder to select Sam Steel. Eventually, Spaling wound up in San Jose in a deal that included a 2018 second-round pick that turned into Sean Durzi, who is now playing in Utah. The Leafs had moved Durzi and Carl Grundstrom to Los Angeles in a 2019 trade that landed them Jake Muzzin. The Kings then dealt Durzi to Arizona at the 2023 draft. Grundstrom, on the other hand, was traded from LA to San Jose for former Canucks defenceman Kyle Burroughs and then dealt by the Sharks to Philadelphia as part of a Ryan Ellis cap dump. Grundstrom is now playing for the Flyers in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
As for the other parts of the original trade, Bryan Allen spent parts of five seasons in Florida before he was sent to Carolina in a mid-season swap for Sergei Samsonov in February 2011. After a year and a half with the Hurricanes, the veteran defenceman signed in Anaheim and spent parts of three seasons in Southern California before he was moved to Montreal. Allen played just five games for the Canadiens before calling it a career in 2015. Allan signing as a free agent with the Ducks effectively ended his portion of the Luongo trade tree.
Alex Auld’s part of the trade tree is the smallest of the three main pieces the Panthers acquired. He spent just one season in Florida before moving on to Phoenix as a free agent. What’s interesting is that a few years later, Auld had links to a couple of other high-profile deals, including one involving the Canucks. He was shipped from Ottawa to Dallas for a sixth-round pick that became Mark Stone. And when the Senators later sent Stone to Vegas, they received Erik Brannstrom as part of the return. 
Of course, Brannstrom is a name familiar to Vancouver hockey fans. After signing in Colorado, he was acquired by the Canucks in exchange for Tucker Poolman ahead of the 2024-25 season. 
After 28 games with the Canucks, Brannstrom found himself included in the JT Miller trade to the New York Rangers. The Canucks received Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a first-round pick in the 2025 draft, which was promptly flipped to Pittsburgh for Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor. That first-rounder was included in another deal and wound up being used by Philadelphia to select Jack Nesbitt last June. The Vancouver-Pittsburgh deal also included Vincent Desharnais and Danton Heinen. Desharnais was subsequently moved to San Jose for a 2028 fifth-round pick, while Henien was sent to Columbus along with second (2026) and third-round (2027) picks plus Egor Chinakov.
While Roberto Luongo spent eight highly productive seasons with the Canucks, his time in Vancouver came to an end at the 2014 trade deadline when he was returned to Florida along with Steven Anthony (a 2009 seventh-round draft pick who never played in the NHL) in exchange for Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias.
Markstrom backstopped the Canucks for seven years and was twice named team MVP (2019 & 2020) before leaving for Calgary as a free agent following the bubble playoffs in 2020. He was subsequently dealt to New Jersey in a trade that landed the Flames a first-round pick they used to select Cole Reschny.
Matthias, meanwhile, was part of the 2014-15 Canucks team that made the playoffs. He then signed as a free agent with Toronto before being shipped to Colorado for a fourth-round pick that was used to select defenceman Keaton Middleton. After just 20 games with the Avalanche, Matthias signed in Winnipeg and finished his career with a pair of seasons with the Jets.
Much time has passed since the Vancouver Canucks fleeced the Florida Panthers with the original Roberto Luongo trade. Luongo has moved into management and won a couple of Stanley Cups with the Panthers. But it’s still remarkable to examine that trade all these years later and realize its ripple effects that are still being felt in the NHL today.
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