As Roberto Luongo prepares for Hall of Fame induction, he still has home with Florida Panthers

There have been a lot of meaningful dates in Roberto Luongo’s professional hockey career.

That happens over the course of a 19-year career, more than half of which was spent in net for the Florida Panthers and overall saw him play more than 1,000 games for three teams.

Another milestone day comes on Monday, when Luongo will be formally inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Although, as Luongo recalls it, he had some reservations that he, in fact, might not get inducted this year.

“This is where I’m going to throw [Panthers general manager] Bill [Zito] under the bus a little bit here,” Luongo said a couple weeks ago. “That morning, Billy Zito told me to expect a call around noon. Usually they call right at noon, so make sure you’re by your phone. OK. No problem. I’ll be ready.”

Noon arrives. Nothing.

12:30 p.m.? Silence.

1 p.m.? Still no call.

“I tell Bill, ‘I don’t think I’m getting in this year,’” Luongo said.

As it turns out, Zito gave Luongo the wrong time.

Nevertheless, as the 2 p.m. hour hit on June 27, Luongo got the call.

He made it.

And as Luongo remembers it, his family — wife Gina and children Gabriella and Gianni — celebrated the news more than he did.

“I think they were more ecstatic than I was in the moment,” Luongo said. “For me, it was kind of almost like a little bit of a surreal moment. They were really, really happy for me. It was a good moment. ... I can’t explain it. I think it’s just a product of all the work that not only I put in but they up in. They sacrificed a lot for me to be where I am today.”

His resume is certainly fitting.

Luongo was a three-time Vezina Trophy finalist (2004, 2007 and 2011), a one-time finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy (2007) and a five-time NHL All-Star. He ended his NHL playing career ranking second all-time in games played by a goaltender (1,044), third in wins (489) and ninth in shutouts (77). He is one of only three goaltenders in NHL history to have played 1,000 NHL games — fellow Hall of Famers Martin Brodeur (1,266) and Patrick Roy (1,029) are the others. Luongo’s .919 career save percentage is the highest of the three.

Luongo reached the 2011 Stanley Cup Final with the Vancouver Canucks and that year was awarded the William M. Jennings Trophy, given to the goaltenders on the team that had the fewest goals scored against it in the regular season.

On the international stage, Luongo is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, helping backstop Team Canada to gold in 2010 and 2014. In his career with Canada at the IIHF World Championship, Luongo clinched gold at the 2003 and 2004 tournaments and also captured gold with Canada at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.

“Lots of awards, lot of accolades,” first-year Panthers coach and 25-year NHL coaching veteran Paul Maurice said, “but my favorite line ever heard was that he didn’t win the Vezina but he did win two Jack Adams [Awards, given annually to the NHL’s best coach]. That is by far my favorite line about a goalie because it’s no disrespect to the coach, but it’s true. The goaltender can make you look awfully smart and he made a lot of people look very smart.”

The majority of his career, 11 of 19 seasons, was played in Florida over two stints — 2000-2006 and 2014-2019. He owns the Panthers’ goaltending records for games played (572), wins (230) and shutouts (38).

A Parkland resident, one of Luongo’s biggest non-game moments came on Feb. 22, 2018, when he gave an impassioned pregame speech before the Panthers’ first home game after the deadly school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High that took the lives of 17 students and faculty members.

“I’ve lived in Parkland for the past 12 years,” Luongo said that day. “My wife was born and raised in that area. My kids go to school in Parkland. When I’m done playing hockey, I want to spend the rest of my life in Parkland.”

On March 7, 2020, the Panthers retired Luongo’s No. 1 jersey — making him the first player to have his number retired by the franchise.

And he knows where his roots are.

“This is home now,” Luongo said. “This is where we’re gonna be. I love it here.”

And Luongo is still involved in the Panthers’ success even though his contributions aren’t seen on the ice anymore.

Luongo has been Special Advisor to the General Manager since Nov. 13, 2019 — first under Dale Tallon and now under Zito — and oversees the Panthers Goaltending Excellence Department alongside goaltending consultant Francois Allaire that the team launched in December 2020.

“It’s funny because you forget all the things that he’s done and he’s just a great guy,” 21-year-old Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight said. “It’s cool to look up to him something to strive for, a career like his. He played over 1,000 games and obviously I don’t have anywhere close to 1,000 games but hopefully one day I can get there.”

Luongo said he enjoys the new role and being able to still have an impact on the team that played such a vital role in his career.

“I still feel like I have some skin in the game and I still go through the same emotions when there’s a game on TV or here at the rink, so I enjoy that part of it,” Luongo said. “I still feel like trying to help the team win a Stanley Cup.”