Roberto Luongo – Franchise Wins & Shutouts Record

Lore & Background

Luongo was selected fourth overall by the Islanders in the 1997 NHL entry draft. After his rookie season, he was traded to the Panthers. In five seasons with Florida, he set team records for games played, wins, and shutouts. He was traded to the Canucks in the 2006 offseason. In Vancouver, he became the first NHL goaltender to serve as a team captain since Bill Durnan in 1947–48. He helped the Canucks to Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. He returned to the Panthers during the 2013–14 season and spent the remainder of his career there. After retiring, he joined the Panthers' front office and won the Stanley Cup championship in 2024.

In Their Own Story

The American Airlines Center hummed with a low, electric buzz. The score was 1–1, the third period, and the kind of silence that falls over a hockey arena when a goaltender is about to make a play. Luongo dropped into his butterfly, stick laid flat, eyes tracking the puck as it skidded toward the slot. The shooter wound up, released. The puck hit the top of the crossbar and bounced back out, and Luongo was already on his knees, scanning the ice, ready for the rebound. He never stood up. He just stayed low, stick extended, breathing hard, and when the puck finally cleared the zone he let out a short, sharp exhale through his nose. The crowd noise swelled. He tapped his glove against the ice once, twice, and skated back to the crease. That was the game. That was the era. That was the record book.

Reader's Guide

Luongo is a two-time NHL All-Star (2004 and 2007) and winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy in 2011. He was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy in 2004, 2007, and 2011, and for the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2007. He is third all-time in games played as an NHL goaltender (1,044) and fourth all-time in wins (489). He employed the butterfly style of goaltending.

Did You Know?

• Luongo was the last active goaltender to have played in the NHL in the 1990s.
• He won two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada (2010 and 2014).
• He is fluent in English, French, and Italian.
• The arena where he played minor hockey in St. Leonard was renamed the Roberto Luongo Arena in 2009.