Roberto Luongo knows there鈥檒l be a lot of emotions when he takes the ice in Vancouver Thursday night.
After all, Rogers Arena has long held a special place for the former Canucks goalie.
It鈥檚 the rink where he backstopped Team Canada to Olympic gold in 2010 and the spot where he and his Canucks teammates experienced heartbreak in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final in 2011.
Those are among the moments Luongo will be thinking of when he鈥檚 honoured Thursday in a ceremony ahead of a tilt between Vancouver and the Florida Panthers. His former teammates, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, will also be recognized after all three were inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame last month.
鈥淭hose playoff runs, those were the best moments of my career,鈥� Luongo told reporters. 鈥淪o I want to be able to kind of relive them a little bit here, the next little while and take it in and thank the fans for everything. I think it鈥檚 a nice way to cap it all off.鈥�
It won鈥檛 be the last time the 43-year-old Montreal native is recognized before a Vancouver crowd. The Canucks announced Wednesday that he鈥檒l join the team鈥檚 Ring of Honour next season.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great honour. I鈥檓 really excited about it,鈥� said Luongo, who now serves as Florida鈥檚 director of goaltending and as a special adviser to general manager Bill Zito. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see that the work that I put in here for eight years is going to get recognized and I鈥檓 very grateful to be able to go up there with those guys.鈥�
Luongo spent eight seasons (2006-2014) donning a Canucks jersey, setting multiple franchise records and helping lead the team to a Stanley Cup appearance in 2010-11.
The Montreal native is the franchise leader in wins (252) and shutouts (38). He also tops the list in save percentage (. 919) and goals-against average (2.36) among those with at least 100 games played. Luongo also led Canada to two Olympic gold medals in 2010 and 2014.
鈥淲e are proud to welcome Roberto to the prestigious list of Canucks Ring of Honour inductees,鈥� team president Jim Rutherford said in a statement. 鈥淩oberto experienced many of his career highlights as a Vancouver Canuck and is deservingly viewed as one of the best goaltenders our game has ever seen thanks to those moments.
鈥淗e was a fierce competitor and a tremendous leader for this team, and we are honoured to be able to acknowledge his contributions to this organization and city.鈥�
The 43-year-old played 20 years in the NHL before announcing his retirement after the 2018-2019 season.
During his time in Vancouver, the team made the playoffs five seasons in a row. It was a special group that made that run, the netminder said.
鈥淚t was unbelievable,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd sometimes when you鈥檙e in it, you don鈥檛 kind of realize it. But then you move on, you play for other teams, teams change. And now that you look back, it鈥檚 like you realize how special the group was and it was a unique group, right?
鈥淲e had different types of personalities in the locker room. And I think that鈥檚 what made us so good.鈥�
Luongo closed out his career with the Panthers, spending five seasons in Florida鈥檚 crease before announcing his retirement after the 2019-19 season.
That success has prompted many in Vancouver to muse about whether his jersey should be retired 鈥� a decision Luongo said is out of his control.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not up to me to decide, right? But either way, it鈥檚 a tremendous honour. And I鈥檓 very grateful to be honoured anyway,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o I was happy when I got the call yesterday, and I鈥檓 looking forward to next season.鈥�
鈥擥emma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
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