If Roberto Luongo were to become the Leafs’ next starting goalie, one thing is certain: the price has to be right.

It’s all but a certainty now that Luongo would have been traded by Vancouver to the Leafs as far back as the June draft had it not been for the Canucks’ demands at the time.

Those demands ranged from four NHL serviceable players to a pair of a pair of NHLers and a pair of first-round picks. Names that surfaced included Tyler Bozak, Jake Gardiner, Matt Frattin and a first-round pick, headed west for the 33-year-old goalie who has another 10 years on his contract.

Sportsnet’s John Shannon reported Wednesday night that the Leafs and Canucks have agreed to a deal in principle that would send Luongo to the Leafs as soon as the NHL lockout ended. It’s believed the two teams have agreed on at least one player heading west from the Leafs.

“The definition of close is different for everybody,” Vancouver GM Mike Gillis told the Vancouver Province and TEAM 1040.

“I’m not sure why John would say that because that’s certainly not the case. Everybody is also entitled to speculate on whatever they want to speculate on.

“We’ve moved very slowly on any discussions with Roberto — we’ll trade him when we get want we want to get for him, or we won’t trade him, and either way it’s fine with me.”

The spectre of the lockout, and the unknown factor of what Vancouver’s overall price is, leaves question marks hovering over the deal.

Ever since the trade rumors first surfaced at the June draft, Leafs GM Brian Burke held his ground against paying an exorbitant price.

Once the lockout settles, the new CBA should have an impact on how a Luongo trade to the Leafs is structured.

Luongo’s contract is exemplary of the type of deal the owners want to see erased from a new CBA. He has 10 years remaining with a cap hit of $5.33 million per season, but the actual payments see him earn $6.714 million for the next six seasons, with a 50 per cent cut in the seventh year, and $1 million in each of the final two seasons.

Luongo, it’s believed, would retire after six seasons, erasing the cap hit over the final four seasons.

New CBA proposals by the NHL, though, show measures that would leave the Canucks responsible for the cap hit in those final four years, even if Luongo retired as a member of the Leafs (Vancouver would absorb four years at that $5.33 million per year cap hit).

It’s likely both teams will want to see what contract details appear in the new CBA before proceeding with a Luongo deal.

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In the meantime, the question remains: what price are the Leafs willing to pay? Bozak, who starred in the British Columbia Hockey League, has been an exemplary player-citizen in Toronto, overcoming a brand as the team’s top centre (one he didn’t ask for) to become a reliable two-way pivot who has steadied Phil Kessel’s line.

It’s believed the Canucks see him as a third-line centre. Beyond that, Gardiner is untouchable, and Frattin pretty close to that; there is, however, plenty of room to trade both forwards and defencemen. The Leafs have solid organizational depth, and there are several players with the Marlies — Leo Komarov, Paul Ranger, Mike Kostka, Korbinian Holzer, Dylan Yeo and others — who are NHL ready should a trade open spots on the NHL roster.

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