Via Slam Sports, the Vancouver Sun's Brad Ziemer spoke with Vancouver Canucks coach John Tortorella about a number of topics recently, and while Torotorella spoke favorably of his goaltender...

Q: There has obviously been lots of talk here about Roberto Luongo and his state of mind. How much have you talked to him this summer and what can you tell us about those conversations?

A: I don’t want to get into specifics, but I have talked to Roberto four times. In fact, I just talked to him yesterday. I’ll tell you, from talking with him he has told me he is working very hard as far as conditioning and getting ready for this season. He knows there is a lot of talk and probably a lot of questions coming his way with how it all unfolded here. I think he’s prepared for that and the bottom line is he told me “I just want to play.” I think that is the most important thing, if there is some conflict or you are unhappy about certain things, the bottom line is and he understands it, is that he is playing for his teammates. Those are the most important people. I have done a lot of talking to people who have coached him and know him and there is just tremendous support for what kind of pro he is. You don’t have to be happy about a lot of different things. You can be really happy about this, unhappy about that, as long as you are ready to play. I think he gets that. So I am really excited about where he is mentally.

And negatively toward his former sparring partner at Rangers press conferences: