Calls of “Luuuuuu” echoed throughout Rogers Arena Thursday, as the Vancouver Canucks welcomed hall-of-famer and fan favourite goaltender Roberto Luongo back for a special night.
Luongo was in town with the Florida Panthers, and honoured with a pre-game ceremony where was inducted into the stadium’s Ring of Honour with other former Canucks greats, including Kirk MacLean, Pat Quinn and former teammate Alex Burrows.
“What can you say, it’s the most beautiful city in the world,” Luongo told media Thursday morning, of his eight years as a Canuck.
“It was the most important stretch of my career. It was when I was in my prime, we had a great team, we were in the playoffs, we made a run to the cup, I played in the Olympics in this city, which is unbelievable when you think about it … its a huge, huge part of my life, always will be.”
In his 488 games as a Vancouver Canuck, Luongo held a .919 save percentage, wore the captain’s C for two years, and backstopped the team through an exciting and ultimately heartbreaking run to game seven of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals.
He was between the pipes for Team Canada when the squad took home gold on home ice in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
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“I only remember the last play,” he said.
“I just remember there was so much pressure right in that moment given it was the Olympics in Vancouver, Team Canada, I just felt like such a huge weight lifted off my shoulders … It was just a euphoric feeling.”
Despite being a fan favourite, his tenure wasn’t without its bumps.
In his final years he was embroiled in a pair of goalie controversies as management split his playing time first with up-and-coming star Cory Schneider, and later Eddie Lack and trade talk with management mounted.
Then-coach John Tortorella’s decision to start Lack over Luongo in the 2013 Heritage Classic is still regarded by many fans as a snub and a sore spot.
Later that spring he was famously quoted as saying “my contract sucks” amid reports his 12-year $64 million contract extension had interfered with a potential trade.
“Obviously the contract didn’t suck — but for certain reasons, it did,” he told media Thursday, explaining he had just learned a trade to Toronto had fallen through.
“I just remember being so emotional in that very moment just because of what had transpired 15 minutes earlier, and I wish I had maybe had a few more minutes to prepare myself before going out there.”
Luongo was ultimately traded to the Florida Panthers in March 2014. He announced his retirement in June, 2019.
Despite the bumps, Luongo said the special feeling he and his family have for Vancouver have never faded, and that he always looks forward to coming back — with one minor quibble.
“Just getting here and living in the city for eight years, being a part of the community was great,” he said.
“The rain maybe a little bit, but everything else was fantastic.”
Thursday’s matchup included a pre-game ceremony with the Canucks’ and Panthers’ goaltenders taking the puck drop, and the Canucks warming up in matching jerseys bearing Luongo’s name and #1.
Fans also received special memorial Luongo bobbleheads.