Thirteen years after a heartbreaking Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup final, former Canucks fan favourite Roberto Luongo got to hoist hockey’s most famous trophy.
And the Hall of Fame netminder, who now works in the Florida Panthers’ front office, gave a shout-out to his fans in Vancouver Monday night after this team defeated the Edmonton Oilers.
“I just want to thank especially the people of Vancouver for their support,” Luongo said.
“I received a lot of messages from people over the last two months, people rooting for me, so I am truly grateful for that. I always enjoy going back there, I look forward to going back there next season.”
Luongo backstopped the Canucks between 2006 and 2014, and served for a time as the team’s captain, before being traded back to Florida.
While the Oilers were seen by many as “Canada’s team” in the Stanley Cup final, a notable contingent of B.C. and Vancouver fans threw their support behind the Panthers — whether due to the Luongo connection or lingering bad blood over the Canucks’ loss to the Oilers in the second round.
One poll found nearly one in four Canucks fans pulling for the Panthers to win their first Stanley Cup.
Ahead of Monday night’s game Luongo was given the special role of banging a massive drum the Pathers use to rile up their fans, a task he took to with gusto.
“I have had a lot of pent-up emotion over the last weeks so I needed to let that out,” he said after the game.
“It’s been a blast, I love doing it, I love building teams, I love putting pieces of the puzzle together, making it fit, building a great group of guys like this and just to see it pay off like this is an unbelievably rewarding feeling.”
In his 488 games as a 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 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup final. He was also a Canuck when he helped Team Canada win Olympic gold on home ice in the 2010 Winter Games.
Last December, he was inducted into the Ring of Honour in Rogers Arena when the Panthers were in town to play the Canucks.