Welcome to LWOS Hockey’s summer series, Call to the Hall, where we take a look at the next great player from each NHL franchise to get called to the Hockey Hall of Fame. There are a few caveats, the player must be active, and must have played 300 games (or 150 for goaltenders) with the franchise.
Check out the previous Call to the Hall articles HERE.
CALL TO THE HALL: FLORIDA PANTHERS
Currently, the Florida Panthers have five players in the Hockey Hall of Fame, although none of them are remembered for their time as a member of the team. Igor Larionov spent just one season with the team before his induction in 2008, as did Ed Belfour. Dino Ciccarelli and Joe Nieuwendyk both spent two seasons in Florida and Pavel Bure, who served the longest, spent four seasons as a Panther, although he is prominently remembered as a seven-year Vancouver Canuck.
In today’s world, the team has started to build on a young and promising foundation. Aaron Ekblad has played just one season, winning the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year and cementing his place on the Panthers blueline for what will likely be a lengthy stay. Jonathan Huberdeau, another Calder-winner, along with 2013 draftee Aleksander Barkov and young blueliners in Dmitry Kulikov and Erik Gudbranson are all signs of a team with lots of potential down the line.
There are several possibilities available for this series. Olli Jokinen, who spent seven seasons with the Panthers and played in over 500 games, leads the Panthers all-time in goals scored and points, and is second in all-time assists. Nathan Horton appeared in over 400 games with the Panthers before winning the Stanley Cup with the 2010-11 Boston Bruins. Same goes for Rob Niedermayer, who played eight seasons in Florida before winning the Cup with the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks. Defenseman Brian Campbell is also a former Stanley Cup winner (Chicago Blackhawks) and won the Panthers their first single-player award in over a decade, capturing the Lady Byng in 2011-12, but he hasn’t played enough in Florida to qualify. Instead, we are going with someone who made a name for himself in Florida, moved on to come close to winning a Cup, and then came back home for one last run. Of course, we’re talking about goaltender Roberto Luongo.
ROBERTO LUONGO
Roberto Luongo showcased his worth as a member of the Val-d’Or Foreurs, in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, drafted 2nd overall in 1995, making him the highest-drafted goaltender in QMJHL history. But his potential was already produced at the early age of 15, when he followed in the footsteps of Felix Potvin and Martin Brodeur, suiting up for Montreal-Bourassa in his midget year. After putting on quite the display in 1996-97 season, winning 32 games and receiving the Mike Bossy Trophy for being the league’s best professional prospect. This was more than enough for the New York Islanders to take him at 4th overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, which made history for the second time in Luongo’s playing career as the highest-selected goaltender at the time.
After spending two more seasons in junior, Luongo got his big break in the 1999-2000 season, appearing in 24 games with the Islanders. That same year, he was added to the World Junior Championships All-Star Team and was named the World Junior Championships Best Goaltender. However, things took a turn the following off-season when the Islanders selected goaltender Rick DiPîetro at 1st overall in the 2000 draft, passing Luongo as the highest-selected goaltender in NHL history. Luongo went from the goaltender of the Islanders future to being shipped out of town. Along with Jokinen, Luongo was sent to Florida in exchange for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha. In hindsight, it turned out to be a lopsided deal, as Luongo and Jokinen became impact players for the Panthers, while Parrish and Kvasha faltered.
His first stint with the Panthers lasted five seasons, beginning with a battle for the starting position with veteran Trevor Kidd during his first year with the new team. He finished with more games played than Kidd, despite head coach Terry Murray leaning on his veteran due to the experience factor. In the following seasons, Luongo’s role increased, starting in more games every year and cementing his place as the team’s star between the pipes.
While he only enjoyed one winning season with the club during those five seasons, little blame was placed on his performance. In fact, it was one of the only things Florida had going for them. His .931 save percentage in the 2003-04 season still holds up as his career-high in that statistic. His performance in 2002 earned him a spot in the NHL YoungStars Game and two years later, he received a spot in the NHL All-Star Game and was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team.
He posted his best record with the team in 2005-06, going 35-30-9 in 75 starts, despite suffering from his lowest goals against and save percentage. Luongo also became the winningest goaltender in Panthers history, surpassing John Vanbiesbrouck, while also breaking his single-season win record of 27. Unfortunately, talks between he and general manager Mike Keenan regarding a new deal fell through and Luongo was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks in a deal that brought Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alex Auld over to Florida.
With the new team, Luongo broke new ground, posting a 47-win season in his first year with the Canucks. He would hit the 40-win plateau twice in Vancouver, and 30-win plateau four times during his eight years with the Canucks. Making it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals in 2011, Luongo was just one game shy of capturing his first and only Stanley Cup ring, losing out to the Boston Bruins.
He also happened to make the All-Star Game three more times, in 2007, 2008 and 2009, although he did not play in ’08 despite being named a starter. He won the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2007, the Scotiabank Fan Favorite in 2009 and the William M. Jennings in 2011. In terms of Vancouver-related awards, Luongo was the recipient of the Most Exciting Player award in 2007, the Cyclone Taylor award for most valuable player to the team in 2007 and 2008, and the Molson Cup in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011. Luongo also served as the team’s (somewhat) unofficial captain, from 2008 to 2010. While he wasn’t eligible to wear the “C” on his jersey, the team found a way around the system by painting the letter onto his mask.
After back-up goaltender Cory Schneider usurped Luongo’s role as the starter in the 2012 playoffs, and combined with his mammoth, near cap-circumventing contract, rumors began to swirl the he could be on the move. When Luongo was benched at the 2014 Heritage Classic in favor of Eddie Lack, and after months of rumors about his future, it was the last straw for both player and team, and he was dealt back to Florida with Steven Anthony in a deal for Jacob Markstrom and Shawn Matthias.
Signed all the way until the 2021-22 season and starting next season at the age of 36, Luongo is still capable of back-stopping a team to success and with the new life injected into the Panthers and smart drafting along the way, Luongo may just be what the teams needs between the pipes in order to push for the playoffs in the near future. He certainly has the skill level to do so.
Internationally-speaking, Luongo has pretty much done it all. A two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2010, 2014), two-time IIHF World Champion Gold Medalist (2003, 2004) and a World Cup Champion (2004), Luongo has captured just about every accomplishment at the international stage. While he played a primary role in the 2010 gold medal run, posting five wins and a 1.76 GAA, he played shotgun to Carey Price in Sochi in 2014, as well as Martin Brodeur in the 2006 Torino Games.
While he lacks some credentials at the NHL-level, missing a Cup ring and some single-player awards as a goaltender, he is still one of the best goaltenders of his era and has the International credibility to push for his argument. A 15-year career that is about to go longer, Luongo has certainly made a case for himself with accomplishments as a Panther, like:
- Most wins in a season: 35 (2005–06)
- Most shutouts in a season: 7 (2003–04)
- All time leader in shutouts: 29
- All time leader in games played by a goaltender: 393
- All time leader in wins by a goaltender: 142
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