Florida Panthers: Roberto Luongo will get number retired
The Florida Panthers have announced that goaltender Roberto Luongo will be the first player in franchise history to have his number retired.
A few months ago, Florida Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo announced his retirement. It was largely due to his health and age. However, it didn’t take long for the Panthers to properly honor their best player of all-time. The team has announced they will be honoring Luongo by retiring his number 1.
Luongo is the first player in franchise history to have his number retired. Numbers 93 and 37 are also retired, but those are for former general manager Bill Torrey and former owner Wayne Huizenga.
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His number one will be retired on March 7, 2020. It will be during a home game against the Montreal Canadiens. Luongo is from Montreal, so that’s an appropriate time to retire his number.
Luongo is widely considered to be the Panthers greatest player in franchise history. He is their franchise leader in games played for a goalie (572) and ranks fourth in games played regardless of position.
The goaltender also ranks second in save percentage at .919%, trailing only Tomas Vokoun at .923%. It’s worth noting, however, that Vokoun played 248 games for the Panthers. Luongo more than doubled that. With over 16,000 saves, he has more than double the saves of Vokoun (7,290) as well. Luongo is also the Panthers career leader in shutouts, with 38, and wins, with 230.
Not only is he one of the greatest players in franchise history, he is widely considered one of the best goaltenders ever, regardless of era. Luongo never won a Vezina Trophy, but he was robbed in several seasons. Between the Vancouver Canucks and the Panthers, he has 489 wins, which ranks third all-time.
His career should see him in the Hall of Fame. Luongo’s number place him in an elite category. Most of its members are either in the Hall of Fame right now or will most likely shortly be in it. Luongo is one of the most colorful players, both on and off the ice, in NHL history.
Next. Each NHL Team's Greatest Player Of All-time. dark
He’s arguably the greatest goaltender two different franchises have ever had. Few players can hold that distinction. Patrick Roy is perhaps the only one who can boast that. And he’s in the Hall of Fame.