Cheers of 鈥淟uuuuu!鈥� once again rang out at Vancouver鈥檚 Rogers Arena on Thursday as the Canucks honoured a trio of former players.
The familiar oratory ovations came as former goalie Roberto Luongo stood at centre ice with his former teammates, Daniel and Henrik Sedin. All three were recognized for their recent inductions to the Hockey Hall of Fame before a game between the Canucks and Florida Panthers.
Luongo thanked the standing crowd for supporting the trio.
鈥淥n a personal note, I really wanted to thank you guys for pushing me to be a better goaltender, pushing me to be a better person every single night,鈥� he added.
Video tributes narrated by former coach Alain Vigneault played on the big screen and each of the three players received a traditional blanket from First Nations leaders. Flanked by the Sedins, Luongo performed the ceremonial puck drop.
Rogers Arena has long held a special place for Luongo.
It鈥檚 the rink where he backstopped Team Canada to Olympic gold in 2010 and the venue where he and his Canucks teammates reached the Stanley Cup final in 2011 before falling in Game 7 to the Boston Bruins.
鈥淭hose playoff runs, those were the best moments of my career,鈥� the netminder told reporters earlier on Thursday. 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�
READ MORE: Hall of Fame goalie Roberto Luongo honoured to be recognized by Vancouver Canucks
Originally drafted fourth overall by the New York Islanders in 1997, Luongo spent eight seasons with the Canucks.
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 2018-19 season.
He remains the Canucks鈥� franchise leader in wins (252) and shutouts (38), and tops the list in save percentage (.919) and goals-against average (2.36) among goalies who played at least 100 games.
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.
He told the crowd Thursday night that neither honour is at the top of his mind.
鈥淚 know there鈥檚 a lot of debate about the Ring of Honour and the (jersey retirement) but that stuff doesn鈥檛 matter to me,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat matters to me is moments like this and sharing it with you guys.鈥�
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
