Roberto Luongo is a Stanley Cup champion.
On Monday night, the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers by a final score of 2-1 in game seven of the Stanley Cup Final. Luongo, who serves as a special advisor to Panthers GM Bill Zito, banged the drum to fire up the home crowd pregame.
Luongo’s drumming clearly paid dividends, as the Panthers jumped to an early 1-0 lead after Carter Verhaege opened the scoring at the 4:27 mark. Mattias Janmark answered back for Edmonton shortly thereafter, but Sam Reinhart’s second period marker proved to be the difference as Florida shut Edmonton down in the third period.
Luongo, who is the only player in Panthers history to have their number retired, shared a special moment with goaltender Sergei Bobrosvky post game:
Bobrovsky has faced his challenges in Florida, but was great for the Panthers in these playoffs. Despite some shaky moments as his Panthers blew a 3-0 series lead, Bobrovsky showed up when it mattered the most and was named the first star of Florida’s game seven victory.
With the win, Luongo finally got to hoist the Cup.
Luongo spoke post game on the ice, and took a moment to thank the fans back in Vancouver, many of whom were rooting for his Panthers to win it all.
“I just want to thank the people of Vancouver for their support,” he said. “I received a lot of messages over the last two months, people rooting for me, I’m truly grateful for them, and I always enjoy going back there and I can’t wait to go back there next season.”
In 1044 NHL games, the majority of which were spent with the Canucks and Panthers, Luongo amassed a total record of 489-392-124 with a .919 career save percentage. He became a first ballot Hall of Famer as part of the class of 2022 alongside fellow Canucks legends Henrik and Daniel Sedin.
Some other Canuck ties to the cup win tonight: Jonah Gadjovich (who’s name will be on the Cup), Will Lockwood, Gustav Forsling, and of course, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who the Canucks bought out last summer.