Roberto Luongo

Roberto Luongo
Born	(1979-04-04) April 4, 1979 Montreal, QC, CAN
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
NHL team Former teams	Vancouver Canucks Florida Panthers New York Islanders
NHL draft	4th overall, 1997 New York Islanders
Playing career	1998–present

Roberto Luongo (born April 4, 1979) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender and team captain of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the first NHL goaltender to be named team captain since Bill Durnan in 1947–48, and is considered one of the premier goaltenders in the league. Luongo previously played for the New York Islanders and the Florida Panthers.

Playing major junior in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the Val-d'Or Foreurs and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Luongo was drafted fourth overall by the Islanders in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, making him, at the time, the highest drafted goalie in NHL history. He was a Vezina Trophy nominee with Florida in 2004, and once more in his first season with Vancouver in 2007. Both years he was the first runner-up to Martin Brodeur. In 2007, he was also nominated for the Lester B. Pearson Award and the Hart Memorial Trophy, but was the first runner-up to Sidney Crosby for both awards.

Internationally, Luongo has competed for Team Canada in numerous tournaments. As a junior, he won a silver medal at the 1999 World Junior Championships, his second tournament appearance. In four World Championships, Luongo has won two gold medals and a silver. He also won the 2004 World Cup championship and appeared in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin as a backup to Brodeur in both instances.

Playing career

Junior career

Roberto Luongo began his junior ice hockey career in the 1995–96 season with the Val-d'Or Foreurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In his first season with the team, he posted only six wins in 23 games played. As the team's starting goaltender the following season, he improved to 32 wins and was awarded the Mike Bossy Trophy as the league's best professional prospect. In 1997–98, Luongo won 14 of 17 playoff starts to lead the Foreurs to the QMJHL championship and a Memorial Cup appearance. Although he was traded to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan for the 1998–99 season, he was able to repeat the feat and made his second straight Memorial Cup appearance.

New York Islanders

At the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Luongo was drafted in the first round, fourth overall, by the New York Islanders. The pick originally belonged to the Toronto Maple Leafs but was later traded to the Islanders in exchange for Wendel Clark, Mathieu Schneider and D. J. Smith. At the time of the draft, Luongo was the highest picked goaltender in NHL history.

Although the Islanders planned to have Luongo play in the NHL for the 1998–99 season, an inconsistent performance at training camp and the failure to negotiate a contract led to Luongo's return to the QMJHL that season. The next year, after coming to terms with a three-year, entry-level $2.775 million contract, Luongo made his professional debut with the Lowell Lock Monsters, the Islanders' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, in 1999–00. Early in the season, however, Luongo was called up after a shoulder injury to Wade Flaherty. He made his NHL debut on November 28, 1999, stopping 43 shots in a 2-1 win against the Boston Bruins. The next month, he recorded his first career NHL shutout, stopping 34 shots in a 3-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on December 27, 1999. Luongo shared starts for the remainder of the season with Felix Potvin, then Kevin Weekes (the two were traded for each other in a deal with the Vancouver Canucks), posting a 3.25 goals against average (GAA) and .904 save percentage in 24 games.

In the off-season, on the day of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, general manager Mike Milbury traded Luongo to the Florida Panthers along with Olli Jokinen for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha. As both Jokinen and Luongo would eventually develop into star players with the Panthers, the trade would earn Milbury widespread criticism. As the Islanders possessed the first overall pick in the draft that year, the move precipitated the selection of Rick DiPietro, who supplanted Luongo as the highest drafted NHL goaltender.

Florida Panthers

Luongo has always worn the number "1" in the NHL.

Luongo began his first season with Florida sharing time with Trevor Kidd, but quickly emerged as the club's starting goaltender. He posted a 12-24-7 record playing with the struggling Panthers, but recorded an impressive 2.44 GAA and .920 save percentage. Approaching his third NHL season, Luongo agreed on a four-year contract with the Panthers on September 13, 2001. However, after appearing in 58 games in 2001–02, Luongo was injured late in the season, suffering a torn ligament in his right ankle in a game against the Montreal Canadiens on March 20, 2002. He was sidelined for the remainder of the season with a 16-33-4 record, a 2.77 GAA and .915 save percentage. In 2002–03, Luongo returned to a heavier workload, playing a 65-game season, while recording his first 20-win campaign with a 2.71 GAA and .918 save percentage.

After three promising seasons with the Panthers, Luongo emerged as a world class goaltender in 2003–04, earning his first Vezina Trophy nomination. Playing in 72 games, he set an NHL mark for most shots faced and most saves in a single season, surpassing former Islanders teammate Felix Potvin who set the previous records in 1996–97 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He passed Potvin's mark of 2,214 saves with a 42-save performance in a 3–2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 25, 2004. Nearly a week later, he set the record for most shots in a single season, facing 35 shots in a 5–4 loss to the Ottawa Senators on March 31, 2004, eclipsing Potvin's mark of 2,438.

Atlanta Thrashers forward Peter Bondra scores on Luongo.

He finished the season with 2,303 saves on 2,475 shots for a .931 save percentage (first among goalies with 50-plus starts) to go with a 2.43 GAA and 7 shutouts, fifth in the league. Luongo placed second in voting for the Vezina Trophy to fellow Montreal-native Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils, earning 6 first-place votes to Brodeur's 15. Luongo also finished sixth in Hart Trophy balloting with 2 first-place votes and was named to the Second NHL All-Star Team.

With the NHL set to resume in 2005–06 following the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Luongo was without a contract and was taken to arbitration by the Panthers where he was awarded a one-year, $3.2 million contract on August 25, 2005. He posted 35 wins and a career-high 8 shutouts for the Panthers that season. Set to become a free agent for the second consecutive off-season, he could not come to an agreement with the Panthers, having formally turned down a five-year, $30 million contract offer in January 2006. It was also reported that among Luongo's demands were that backup goaltender Jamie McLennan be re-signed, a new goaltending coach be hired and that a public statement be released that he would not be traded until the no-trade clause of his contract took effect. On September 2nd, 2009, Luongo signed a 12 year extension with the Canucks, signing him through 2021.

Vancouver Canucks

Luongo with Chris Kunitz at the lip of his crease in 2006.

Prior to the start of the 2006–07 season, Luongo was in the midst of further contract negotiations with Florida, and expected to sign when GM Mike Keenan traded him to the Vancouver Canucks. In a blockbuster deal, Luongo was packaged with defenceman Lukas Krajicek and a sixth round draft pick (Sergei Shirokov) in exchange for forward Todd Bertuzzi, defenceman Bryan Allen and goaltender Alex Auld. Immediately following the deal, Vancouver signed Luongo to a four-year, $27-million deal.

Midway through the campaign he made his first All-Star Game appearance as a starter — his second appearance overall — and was named the Skills Competition's top goalie. A week prior to the All-Star Game, Luongo was hospitalized after taking a puck to the throat in practice. He spent the night in the intensive care unit for fears his windpipe would swell shut. Discharged from the hospital on game day, Luongo recorded a shutout that night against the Montreal Canadiens on January 16, 2007. He went on to lead the Canucks to a Northwest Division title, seeding third in the Western Conference, after they failed to make the playoffs the previous season. Luongo would also shatter Kirk McLean's franchise record of 38 wins in a season with 47. That same mark would also tie Bernie Parent's thirty-three-year NHL record of wins in a season, although Martin Brodeur would also reach and succeed that mark that same year (Luongo and Brodeur's achievements are, however, considered to be somewhat skewed, given that it was the first season the NHL made ties obsolete with shootouts, generating more wins than in the past). It was assumed that Luongo would achieve better statistics than in the past, backstopping a more successful team compared to the Panthers, who had never made the playoffs in Luongo's tenure with them. He would, in fact, set career highs in wins and goals-against-average, as well as the second highest save percentage of his career.

Luongo has captained the Canucks since the 2008–09 season.

Incidentally, the 2007 postseason was Luongo's first playoffs of his career; in his first game, he almost set an NHL record for most saves in a game with 72, en route to a 5-4 quadruple overtime victory over the Dallas Stars. He was just one save shy of tying the mark set by Ron Tugnutt and Kelly Hrudey of 73. Luongo would go on to win his first playoff series in seven games, but would lose to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Anaheim Ducks in the second round. Game 5 of the series with Anaheim saw Luongo come close to his previous 72-save performance, stopping 60 of 62 in a losing effort, in which Vancouver was eliminated. Oddly, Luongo had missed the first three minutes of the first overtime, to what was first believed to be an equipment malfunction. However, after the series had ended, it was revealed that Luongo, instead, had an untimely case of diarrhea.

Shortly after the end of the post-season, Luongo was up for three major NHL awards, the Vezina, Pearson and Hart. However, Luongo finished second in voting for all three awards, behind Brodeur for the Vezina and Sidney Crosby for the Hart and Pearson.

Luongo during a Canucks open practice in 2008.

After a season of great accomplishments, 2007–08 paled somewhat in comparison. For the most part of his second campaign with the Canucks, Luongo kept pace with his previous season's work and continued to set impressive statistics, most significantly, a three-game shutout streak spanning 210:34 (breaking the Canucks' previous franchise record of 184:20 set by Ken Lockett in April 1975) in November and early December. Also, although he did not attend in order to be with his pregnant wife, he was voted in as the 2008 NHL All-Star Game's Western Conference starting goalie for the second consecutive season. However, with the Canucks battling for the Northwest Division title all season long, a losing streak that saw Luongo go 1–7 in his lasts 8 starts, the Canucks ended up missing the playoffs altogether. At the Canucks' end-of-season media address, Vigneault speculated whether Luongo's heavy regular season workload, having started the team's final 31 games, was a factor in the late-season collapse.

On September 30, 2008, prior to the start of the 2008–09 season, Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis and coach Alain Vigneault announced that Luongo was named the 12th team captain in team history, replacing the departed Markus Näslund. Luongo became only the seventh goaltender in NHL history to be named a captain, and the first since Bill Durnan captained the Montreal Canadiens in 1947–48. Due to league policy forbidding goalies from being captains he does not perform captain's duties nor does he wear the "C" on his jersey. He instead opts to "wear" it on the front of his mask. Canucks defenceman Willie Mitchell was designated to handle communications with on-ice officials, while defenceman Mattias Öhlund was responsible for ceremonial faceoffs and other such formalities associated with captaincy.

Luongo sporting his alternate vintage-inspired mask in 2009.

In November, he recorded consecutive shutouts against the Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes, and the Minnesota Wild, akin to the feat he accomplished in the same month the previous year. His overall shutout streak was snapped at 242:36 minutes, in a 2–1 shootout loss against the Colorado Avalanche, surpassing the Canucks record he set the previous season. Later that month, on November 22, Luongo left a game versus the Pittsburgh Penguins after suffering an adductor strain in his groin. Listed as week-to-week, he attempted what was considered an early comeback within two weeks of the injury, but suffered a setback during a team practice on December 10, leaving early in discomfort. After missing 24 games, Luongo made his return on January 15, 2009, in a 4–1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. While injured, Luongo was chosen for the fourth time to the 2009 NHL All-Star Game as the lone Canucks representative. Despite speculation he would have to miss his second straight All-Star Game, Luongo recovered in time and took part in a 12–11 shootout loss to the Eastern Conference. During the third period, Luongo was equipped with a microphone and engaged in a unique in-game interview with CBC commentators as play developed around him. He finished the season with back-to-back shutouts in the final two games against the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche to establish a career-high 9 shutouts on the season, breaking Dan Cloutier's previous franchise single-season shutout record of 7, set in 2001–02. Winning their second Northwest Division title in three years, Luongo and the Canucks returned to the playoffs after a one-year absence. During the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he led the Canucks to a first round sweep of the St. Louis Blues. The Canucks then faced the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round, which Chicago ultimately won in six games. Luongo was heavily critized following his performance in the sixth and deciding game, allowing an uncharacteristic 7 goals in the 7–5 loss. In a post-game interview, Luongo told reporters that he "let [his] teammate down." Many were quick to suggest trading Luongo, arguing that his large salary could be better spent, while pointing to several successful teams with relatively low-salary goalies. Nevertheless, Luongo was presented at the year-end awards ceremony with the Scotiabank Fan Fav Award, a fan-voted award for the league's most favourite player.

With one season left on his original four-year deal with the Canucks, Luongo and agent Gilles Lupien began contract negotiations with general manager Mike Gillis in the 2009 off-season. At the time of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, ESPN reported that Luongo and the Canucks had agreed on a long-term extension to be announced on July 1. The report was, however, denied by both Lupien and Gillis. A little over a month later in early-August, Gillis told Vancouver sports radio station TEAM 1040 in an interview that he was "philosophically" close to a deal with Luongo to be signed before the upcoming 2009–10 season. That same month, while at Team Canada's summer camp for the 2010 Winter Olympics, Luongo set a September 13 deadline to sign a contract before the Canucks' training camp began, explaining that he "will not be negotiating during the season ... [not wanting] that distraction." On September 2, the Canucks announced that they had signed Luongo to a 12 year contract extension.

International career

Roberto Luongo

Medal record
Representing Canada
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2005 Austria
	2004 Czech Republic
	2003 Finland
World Cup
	2004 Canada
World Junior Championships
	1999 Canada

Internationally, Luongo has represented Canada on numerous occasions. During his major junior career, Luongo played for Team Canada at the 1998 and 1999 World Junior Championships. Luongo played backup to Mathieu Garon in 1998, then took over the starting position the next year in 1999. He helped Team Canada to the gold medal game against Russia, but lost in overtime, surrendering a goal to Artem Chubarov. Luongo was given Best Goaltender and All-Star Team honours for his efforts.

At the senior level, Luongo has played in four World Championships, one World Cup and one Winter Olympics for Team Canada, winning two gold medals, one silver and a World Cup championship.

He first appeared at the World Championships tournament in 2001, playing in a backup position to Fred Brathwaite. In his next appearance, in 2003, Luongo began the tournament as Sean Burke's backup but took over the starting position when Burke suffered an injury in the semi-final game against the Czech Republic. He then made 49 saves in the gold medal game against Sweden in a 3–2 overtime win. Despite Luongo's heroics, Burke was awarded the Best Goaltender award for the tournament, as he played in the majority of Team Canada's games. The next year, in 2004, Luongo earned the starting position and helped lead them to a second consecutive gold medal over Sweden.

Several months later, Luongo competed for Team Canada in the 2004 World Cup as Martin Brodeur's backup. He had another opportunity to step in for the starting goalie when Brodeur pulled himself out prior to the semi-final game against the Czech Republic due to a sprained wrist. Filling in for Brodeur, Luongo made 37 of 40 stops in a 4–3 overtime victory to put Team Canada into the finals against Finland where Brodeur returned and Team Canada captured the championship 3-2.

Luongo appeared in his fourth World Championships in 2005. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, there was no conflict with the Stanley Cup playoffs and NHL players were fully available for the entire tournament. As such, Luongo played backup to Brodeur once again, appearing in two games and earning a silver medal as Team Canada was shut out by the Czech Republic 3–0 in the final.

Luongo made his first Winter Olympics appearance in 2006 in Turin. He again played behind Brodeur and appeared in two games, playing in a win against Germany and a loss to Finland in the round robin. Team Canada was eliminated facing Russia in the quarter-final.

Personal life

Roberto Luongo was born to Lina and Antonio in Montreal, Quebec. His father is an Italian immigrant, and his mother is first generation Italian/Canadian. Luongo grew up in St. Leonard, Quebec, a borough of Montreal well-known as being home to many people of Italian ancestry (not to be confused with the city's Little Italy); living four blocks away from him was Martin Brodeur, who would become the goaltender for the New Jersey Devils. Luongo speaks fluent English, French and Italian. Luongo began playing hockey at the age of eight, first as a forward before switching to goaltender. He also played soccer before committing to hockey full time. His younger brothers, Leo and Fabio, are also goaltenders. Hall of Famer, Grant Fuhr has been cited as his inspiration growing up.

While playing with the Florida Panthers, Luongo met his wife, Gina, through a friendship with Gina's father, the propietor of a local Italian restaurant that he frequented. Luongo and Gina lived in Broward County, Florida, during his tenure with the Panthers. After being traded to Vancouver, Luongo spends his off-seasons with Gina, and their daughter, Gabriella, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Although he was chosen as the starting goaltender for the 2008 NHL All-Star Game, he chose not to attend in order to be with his pregnant wife. Gabriella was born a couple months later, on March 27, 2008.

Career statistics

Regular season

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	OTL	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1995–96	Val d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		23	6	11	4	—	1201	74	0	3.70	.878
1996–97	Val d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		60	32	21	2	—	3302	171	2	3.10	.902
1997–98	Val d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		54	33	19	0	—	3043	157	7	3.09	.899
1998–99	Val d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		21	6	10	2	—	1476	77	1	3.93	.902
1998–99	Acadie-Bathurst Titan	QMJHL		22	14	7	1	—	1342	74	0	3.31	.914
1999–00	Lowell Lock Monsters	AHL		26	10	12	4	—	1517	74	1	2.93	.908
1999–00	New York Islanders	NHL		24	7	14	1	—	1292	70	1	3.24	.908
2000–01	Louisville Panthers	AHL		3	1	2	0	—	178	10	0	3.38	.917
2000–01	Florida Panthers	NHL		47	12	24	7	—	2628	107	5	2.44	.920
2001–02	Florida Panthers	NHL		58	16	33	4	—	3030	140	4	2.77	.915
2002–03	Florida Panthers	NHL		65	20	34	7	—	3627	164	6	2.71	.918
2003–04	Florida Panthers	NHL		73	25	33	14	—	4252	172	7	2.43	.931
2005–06	Florida Panthers	NHL		75	35	30	—	9	4305	213	8	2.97	.914
2006–07	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		76	47	22	—	6	4490	171	5	2.29	.921
2007–08	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		73	35	29	—	9	4232	168	6	2.38	.917
2008–09	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		54	33	13	—	7	3181	124	9	2.34	.920
NHL totals				544	230	232	33	31	31,038	1329	47	2.57	.919
QMJHL totals				180	85	70	9	--	8892	554	10	3.30	--

Playoffs

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SA	SV%
1995–96	Val d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		3	0	1	68	5	0	4.41	--	--
1996–97	Val d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		13	8	5	777	44	0	3.39	--	--
1997–98	Val d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		17	14	3	1019	37	2	2.17	--	--
1998–99	Acadie-Bathurst Titan	QMJHL		23	16	6	1400	64	0	2.74	--	--
1999–00	Lowell Lock Monsters	AHL		6	3	3	359	18	0	3.00	222	.919
2006–07	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		12	5	7	847	25	0	1.77	427	.941
2008–09	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		10	6	4	618	26	1	2.52	278	.914
NHL totals				22	11	11	1465	51	1	2.09	705	.928
QMJHL totals				56	38	15	3264	150	2	2.75	--	--

International statistics

Year	Team	Event		GP	W	L	T	SO	GAA
1998	Canada	WJC		3	0	0	0	0	2.89
1999	Canada	WJC		7	4	2	1	0	1.93
2001	Canada	WC		2	1	0	0	0	1.44
2003	Canada	WC		4	3	0	1	1	1.98
2004	Canada	WC		7	5	1	1	1	2.32
2004	Canada	WCH		1	1	0	0	0	2.82
2005	Canada	WC		2	1	0	1	1	1.50
2006	Canada	Oly		2	1	1	0	0	1.51
Junior int'l totals				10	4	2	1	0	2.22
Senior int'l totals				18	12	2	3	3	1.99

Records

QMJHL

• Val-d'Or Foreurs' franchise record for most wins in a season - 32 (1996–97)
• QMJHL league record for most shutouts in a season - 7 (1997–98)

NHL

• NHL league record for most shots faced in a single season - 2,475 (2003–04)
• NHL league record for most saves in a single season - 2,303 (2003–04)
• NHL league record for most shots faced in a single playoff game - 76 (April 11, 2007)
• NHL league record for most home games played in a single season - 41 (2006–07)
• NHL league record for most regular season overtime wins all-time - 49 (as of 2008–09

Florida Panthers

• Florida Panthers' franchise record for most shutouts in a season - 7 (2003–04)
• Florida Panthers' franchise record for most wins in a season - 35 (2005–06)
• Florida Panthers' franchise leader in all-time games played - 318
• Florida Panthers' franchise leader in all-time wins - 108
• Florida Panthers' franchise leader in all-time shutouts - 26

Vancouver Canucks

• Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for most wins in a season - 47 (2006–07) (surpassed Kirk McLean - 38 in 1991–92)
• Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for save percentage in a season - .921 (2006–07)
• Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for saves in a single game - 72 (April 11, 2007)
• Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for longest shutout streak - 242:36 (2008–09)
• Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for most shutouts in a season - 9 (2008–09) (surpassed Dan Cloutier - 7 in 2001–02)
• Vancouver Canucks' franchise record for most shutouts - 20 (tied with Kirk McLean)

Awards and achievements

QMJHL

Award	Year(s)
Mike Bossy Trophy	1997

NHL

Award	Year(s)
NHL YoungStars Game	2002
NHL Second All-Star Team	2003, 2007
Mark Messier Leadership Award	March 2007
NHL All-Star Game	2004, 2007, 2008*, 2009
Scotiabank Fan Fav Award	2009

_{*Named as starter but did not play.}

World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

Award	Year(s)
Best Goalie	1999
All-Star Team	1999

Vancouver Canucks

Award	Year(s)
Named Team Captain	2008–09 season
Most Exciting Player Award	2007
Cyclone Taylor Award	2007, 2008
Molson Cup	2007, 2008

Transactions

• June 21, 1997 - Drafted by New York Islanders in the first round, fourth overall.
• June 24, 2001 - Traded to the Florida Panthers along with Olli Jokinen in exchange for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha.
• August 25, 2005 - Granted a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the Florida Panthers by arbitration.
• June 23, 2006 - Traded to the Vancouver Canucks along with Lukas Krajicek and a sixth-round selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft (Sergei Shirokov) in exchange for Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen, and Alex Auld.
• June 29, 2006 - Signed a four-year, $27 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks.

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External links

• Roberto Luongo career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Roberto Luongo player profile at TSN.ca
• Photos of various goalie masks Luongo has worn