With Roberto Luongo in their front office, Florida Panthers headed to Stanley Cup Final
By Sam Nestler
1 month agoLegendary Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo will get another shot at winning his first Stanley Cup.
This time with the Florida Panthers, and he won’t need to make any saves to do it.
Luongo was named special advisor to the general manager in Florida shortly after retiring in 2019. The Panthers have made the playoffs in all five seasons since he was hired, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past two.
Last spring, after barely making the playoffs, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky led Florida on a Cinderella run through the President’s Trophy-winning Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Carolina Hurricanes to reach the Final. They eventually fell short in five games against the Vegas Golden Knights.
This year, the Panthers were a much better team, clinching the Atlantic Division with 110 points. Florida has looked just as impressive in the playoffs. After getting some redemption against their in-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Panthers battled through the Bruins and once again beat the best team from the regular season, the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final.
Florida has now reached the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive seasons and became the first team in 15 years to advance to the Final with a chance to avenge their loss from the previous year.
Florida awaits the winner of the Western Conference Final between the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers.
Luongo played 18 of his 19 seasons between Vancouver and Florida. In 11 seasons with the Panthers, the Hall of Famer went 230-241-73. He leads the franchise in games played, wins, saves and shutouts.
Sandwiched in the middle of his time in Florida, Luongo played 448 games with the Canucks, finishing with a 252-137-50 record. He took Vancouver to Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final before falling to the Bruins and leads the franchise in both wins and shutouts.
Luongo was 34-35 in 70 career playoff games.
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