Roberto Luongo

Roberto Luongo
Hockey Hall of Fame, 2022
An ice hockey goaltender with his mask pulled off of his face looking forwards. He wears a green jersey with a logo of a stylized orca in the shape of a "C".
Luongo practicing with the Vancouver Canucks in April 2009
Born (1979-04-04) April 4, 1979 (age 45)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for New York Islanders
Florida Panthers
Vancouver Canucks
National team  Canada
NHL draft 4th overall, 1997
New York Islanders
Playing career 1999–2019

Roberto Luongo (/luˈɒŋɡoʊ/, Italian: [ˈlwɔŋɡo], Neapolitan: [ˈlwoŋɡə]; born April 4, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers, and Vancouver Canucks. In 2022, Luongo was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Luongo is a two-time NHL All-Star (2004 and 2007) and winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy for backstopping his team to the lowest goals against average in the league (2011, with backup Cory Schneider). He was a finalist for several awards, including the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender (2004, 2007, and 2011), the Lester B. Pearson Award as the top player voted by his peers (2004 and 2007), and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player (2007).[1][2] Luongo is second all time in games played as an NHL goaltender (1,044) and fourth all time in wins (489). He employed the butterfly style of goaltending.[3]

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Luongo is of Italian and Irish ancestry. Prior to his NHL career, he played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the Val-d'Or Foreurs and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, winning back-to-back President's Cups and establishing the league's all-time playoff records for games played and wins.[4] Following his second QMJHL season, Luongo was selected fourth overall by the Islanders in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. After splitting his professional rookie season between the Islanders and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Lowell Lock Monsters in 1999–2000, he was traded to the Panthers. In five seasons with Florida, Luongo established team records for games played, wins, and shutouts; despite several strong seasons, however, the Panthers remained a weak team and were unable to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs during Luongo's initial stint with the team. During the 2006 offseason, he was traded to the Canucks after failed contract negotiations with the Panthers.

In his first season in Vancouver, Luongo won 47 games, and was runner-up for both the Hart Memorial Trophy (league MVP) and Vezina Trophy (best goaltender). Following his second year with the Canucks, he became the first NHL goaltender to serve as a team captain since Bill Durnan in the 1947–48 season.[5] Luongo served in that capacity for two seasons before resigning from the position in September 2010.[6] In the subsequent 2010–11 season, he helped the Canucks to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals but lost to the Boston Bruins. During his eight-year tenure with Vancouver, Luongo became the team's all-time leader in wins and shutouts. He returned to the Panthers during the 2013–14 season, where he spent the remainder of his career, qualifying for the playoffs with the Panthers only once during that time. He was the last active goaltender to have played in the NHL in the 1990s. Following his playing career, Luongo joined the Panthers' front office as an executive, ultimately winning his first Stanley Cup in 2024.

Internationally, Luongo has competed for Team Canada in numerous tournaments. As a junior, he won a silver medal at the 1999 World Junior Championships, while being named Best Goaltender in his second tournament appearance. Luongo won two gold medals at the 2003 and 2004 World Championships and a silver in the 2005 World Championships. He also won the 2004 World Cup championship and appeared in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin as a backup to Martin Brodeur in both instances. He succeeded Brodeur as Canada's starting goaltender during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, winning a gold medal. On January 7, 2014, he was named to the 2014 Canadian Olympic hockey team, where he won his second Olympic gold medal in a largely backup role to Carey Price.

  1. ^ St. Louis, Tortorella, Richards win awards. ESPN. June 11, 2004 [archived November 6, 2012].
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2007 Awards was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference groin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference qmjhlalltime was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference captain was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Luongo steps down as captain. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. September 13, 2010 [archived September 16, 2010].