Canucks: Roberto Luongo’s larceny gets goalie in 2022 Hockey Hall of Fame class

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It was never about one thing with Roberto Luongo.

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It was about everything.

The legendary Vancouver Canucks goaltender arrived in a multi-player trade with the Florida Panthers prior to the 2006 season. He would put that lingering “goalie graveyard” franchise moniker to rest over eight campaigns with a series of sensational seasons, superlative saves and enough bravado and flamboyancy to prove he could be as good as any National Hockey League stopper.

I knew it. And he often was.

Luongo, along with former teammates Daniel and Henrik Sedin, was named to the 2022 Hockey Hall of Fame induction class Monday in his first year of eligibility. It said a lot about a polarizing player. He was great, he could grate and at the end of it all, he wanted out.

However, Luongo’s book of work in 1,044 games with three clubs, 2.52 career goals-against average and .919 save percentage can do the talking. And it spoke volumes about a pivotal portion of Canucks franchise history.

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The fourth overall selection in the 1997 draft by the New York Islanders, Luongo had more than his moments here. There were a pair of 40-win seasons, 72 saves in a legendary quadruple overtime victory in 2007 in his first post-season and backstopping Team Canada to 2010 Olympic gold in Vancouver.

Luongo was a Vezina Trophy finalist on three occasions, finished second to Sidney Crosby in voting for the 2007 Hart Trophy and won the Jennings Trophy in 2011. Upon his retirement in 2019, he was third in career wins with 489, which has since been bettered by Marc Andre-Fleury.

Luongo, a 43-year-old Montreal native, remains second in games played (1,044), shots faced (30,942) and saves (28,409).

“For me, he was the difference for us to get to the next level,” former Canucks captain Henrik Sedin said in a Monday conference call. “If you want to talk about a winner, he’s the guy with the way he competed in practices and games. He never took a day off, and that’s something a lot of players learn from.

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“He would play almost every game (more than 70 in four consecutive seasons) and be there the next morning for practice.”

However, there was also the inability to combine home-ice superiority by finding his game in Boston during the seven-game 2011 Stanley Cup Final series setback. There was also the infamous Heritage Classic lineup snub at BC Place Stadium and finally being accommodated by a trade.

“I actually do have some regrets,” Luongo admitted Monday. “I wish I would have handled myself a little bit better and maybe I wasn’t as mature as I thought I was. With the failures, you learn and you become a better person and then you grow up.

“That’s what happened toward the end of my stint there with the Canucks. It’s not on anybody else but me and, unfortunately, that’s something I have to live with. But going back there (Vancouver) now is always awesome and I always get the best welcome. People are so nice to me all the time and I really appreciate that.”

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A signature moment occurred when Henrik and Daniel Sedin had their numbers retired and raised to the Rogers Arena rafters in February of 2020.

Luongo was there to witness the love-in, and you can’t help but wonder if he’ll be greeted by the franchise in the future. Number retirements and Ring of Honor additions are for those who stayed the course. Longo’s detractors will always remember that he was moved a day before the 2014 trade deadline in another multi-asset swap with the Panthers that landed future starter Jacob Markstrom.

Still, the memories are massive and hard to forget. Especially that four-overtime effort.

For those who were there, it’s easy to recall that quarter-final series meeting opener with the Dallas Stars started at 7:11 pm It ended at 12:32 am

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The longest game in Canucks’ franchise history — and the sixth longest in NHL annals — featured short nerves on the ice, head shaking behind the bench and a hole punched in the press box wall by a media member at then-GM Place.

April 11 turned into April 12 before Henrik ended the suspense at 18:06 of the fourth extra session, after Sedin had rung a shot off the post, to cement a wild and crazy 5-4 decision that left fans and Luongo exhausted. There was a scramble for record books to put the 137:53 marathon into perspective because the Canucks were outshot 76-53.

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Luongo saved the day and it’s fair to wonder if he’ll have another significant day in Vancouver.

Maybe that’s why there was a deeper connection to the Sedins jersey retirement ceremony. Luongo wasn’t jeered. He was cheered. Nobody brought up trade requests or salary cap recapture. So what would it mean to Luongo if he is recognized by the organization in some way, some day?

“Obviously, it (franchise recognition) is not in my hands but to hear the loud cheers, means a lot to me. Anything else would be great.”

OVERTIME— Canucks winger Alex Mogilny was passed over again for HHOF recognition. Eligible since 2009, he had 1,032 points (473-559) in 990 games with Vancouver, New Jersey and Toronto — including a 55-goal campaign with the Canucks in 1995-96. He won a Cup with the Devils in 2000 and Olympic gold with the then-Soviet Union in 1988.

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