The Florida Panthers Don’t Want Roberto Luongo Back

Roberto Luongo might be the most beloved player in franchise history, but the Florida Panthers don’t want him back. With Bobrovsky available for the taking, Luongo’s career in both Florida and the NHL might be coming to an end.

The Florida Panthers have had a mostly forgettable existence during their short NHL tenure. One of their highlights as a franchise has been their team’s most successful, and possibly most beloved player, goaltender Roberto Luongo. After a storied career and two separate stints in South Florida, his time in Florida’s crease might be coming to an end.

Luongo may go down in history as one of the NHL’s best goaltenders. Perhaps as one of the best to never win a Stanley Cup. But he’s a far cry from his prime in Vancouver. While Luongo is strongly tied to the Panther’s organization, his career fell victim to multiple trades and relocations split between his original team the New York Islanders, the Panthers, and Vancouver Canucks. While finishing his career in Florida may be a poetic ending, it’s clear the Panthers have moved on from their legendary goalie.

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Luongo and the Panthers appeared to have a small renaissance in 2016 with a playoff appearance, but have failed to reach the postseason since then. They came close in 2018 after a late-season push, but barely missed out and feel further out of the picture this past season as well.

It was in 2018 when Luongo solidified himself as a South Florida sports icon after an emotional speech in front of a home crowd in the wake of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that shook the nation and the local community.

Throughout the 2018-2019 season, Luongo struggled mightily through a record of 18 wins, 16 losses, and 5 overtime losses. The stats he posted included a career-worst .899 save percentage, the only time in his nearly two-decades-long career that number dipped below .900.

He also posted a career worse 3.12 goals against average, the only time since his rookie season that number was north of 3.00. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Florida mainstay has also been dealing with lingering hip and knee issues.

Frank Seravalli of TSN outlined Luongo’s three choices for next season. First, he could try to play again. After all, there are still three years left on his contract that was traded over from Vancouver. Second, he could begin the year on the long-term injured reserve list. The third, yet most drastic and probably best option, is for Luongo to hang up his skates and retire.

Luongo gave the answer every athlete usually gives when asked about retirement – that they’ll take with their family, management and the team and then decide what’s best and go from there. When NHL.com asked Panthers general manager Dale Tallon, his answer was a little less enthusiastic.

"“It’s totally up to Roberto,” Florida general manager Dale Tallon said Thursday. “We’ve talked a couple of times. The decision is solely up to him. Whatever is best for him and his family. We’re going to go along with whatever he decides he wants to do.”"

In the world of sound bites and misquotes, Tallon gave the safe answer and told the media what they wanted, and expected to hear. Yet, that doesn’t really come off as a ringing endorsement of Luongo’s goaltending abilities. In fact, it sounds like the Panthers general manager is secretly hoping Luongo retires and parts ways with the team mutually, freeing the Panthers from any obligation.

No team will ever say they want a team to retire, but they will say they want a player back. If Tallon still had Luongo in his plans for a successful Panthers team, he could have given a scripted answer of how he hoped Luongo comes back, and the team still believes in him and how he can be effective, but he didn’t. Instead, he put the ball in Luongo’s court, emphasizing it is Luongo’s choice and provided no other insight.

While Panthers fans no doubt have a bit of nostalgia for Luongo, at this point, it’s better for the franchise to move on. They’ve got a talented youth movement at seemingly every position with the exception of goaltending. GM Dale Tallon must still be over the moon with the franchise’s signing of new head coach Joel Quenneville.

And with rumors constantly linking top free agents Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky to trade Columbus for the sunny shores of South Beach, why hang on to the aging netminder? Panthers fans may not want to see him go, but Bobrovsky would be a huge upgrade and a more than worthy heir apparent.

Then there’s the matter of Luongo’s terrible contract. Vancouver knew they struck gold when Luongo was at his best and warded him a 12-year contract in 2009. That was a contract they were more than happy to rid themselves with five years later to begin a rebuild.

While the Panthers have just over $20 million in cap space right now, more than enough to meet Luongo’s contract, signing Panarin and Bobrovsky will eat up most, if not all, of that available cap space.

While it’s sad to see Luongo leave the NHL without a Stanley Cup, his time has come. He’ll always have a place with the Panthers, and holds multiple team records. If this is the end of his career, his jersey will be in the rafters of BB&T Center in no time.