Dear Roberto,

Can I call you Lu....no? Ok, Mr Luongo then.

Can you remember a time you really screwed up? You know....that time you did something you thought was really sneaky and hoped nobody noticed, but then they did.

And then you got punished. The embarrassment of the punishment was bad at first, but then you put the memory behind you and moved on, hoping the punishment would just go away.

Well, Mr Luongo....sir, you’re the Canucks punishment. I know at the time of your contract everyone was patting themselves on the back for being able to get you for a long time at an affordable price. Ok....not everyone was patting, in fact Gary Bettman was a little pissed and Brian Burke was egging him on to punish the Canucks.

I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of the numbers that go along with the recapture penalty the Canucks and Panthers will incur if you retire early, but I’ll leave them here to refresh everyone else’s memory.

Here are the cap penalties from Roberto Luongo's contract for the Canucks if he retires early. Could be really ugly pic.twitter.com/0dNIQAipg6 — James Mirtle (@mirtle) March 4, 2014

Mr. L., can I first say that I think you were the best goalie in Canucks history. There is no comparison. Secondly, your play in the 2010 Olympics cemented your legend status in the city and around the nation. (except Toronto...they still hate you). I believe you have earned every dollar of this contract and really hope you can play until 2022.

Mr. Luongo.....Lu, can we be honest with each other for a moment? You are not getting any younger. I know, too obvious. You’re body is sending you messages that maybe it might a good time to hang up the skates before your body gets in serious trouble.

From a more selfish standpoint, I, as a Canucks fan, need you to retire at the end of this year. Why? Because over the next four years the Canucks will be in a better position to handle the penalty of your contract.

In case you haven’t heard, the Canucks have admitted that they are rebuilding and hopefully in 2-4 years they can be a serious playoff team. But getting hit with a 2 year $4.2 million penalty or the dreaded 1 year $8.5 million penalty, would delay that process.

I know you might feel that you don’t owe the organization anything. I get that. But I want you to know that there are tons of fans that appreciate every save you made. (Is that enough sucking up?)

I really hope you heal up fast, because you’re one of the starters in my keeper league. And then at the end of this year....please retire. Thank you.

westy99

**Please correct me if any of these numbers are wrong