Luongo feels ‘relief’ after Panthers win Stanley Cup

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Roberto Luongo got a second chance at a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final on Monday.

He took full advantage of this opportunity.

Luongo was on the wrong end of the Vancouver Canucks’ loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. But at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday, he was charged with getting the home crowd fired up by banging the drum before the Florida Panthers’ 2-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7.

Luongo has worked in the Panthers front office since his retirement in 2019 and is currently a special adviser to general manager Bill Zito. He looked ready to suit up as he almost tore a hole into the bass drum.

The Game 7 win followed three straight losses by the Panthers, who won the Stanley Cup for the first time.

“I had a lot of pent-up emotion from the past week,” Luongo said after the victory. “I had a lot of emotion I had to let out.

“The closest thing I can compare this to, the joy and having the weight lifted off your shoulders, would be the 2010 gold-medal game (in the Olympics). You are happy to win, but it is as much relief as anything.”

Luongo was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022, his career spanning 19 seasons with the New York Islanders, Panthers and Canucks. Eleven of those seasons were spent with Florida.

One of the greatest players in NHL history to have never won the Stanley Cup, the victory Monday allowed Luongo to hoist it over his head and ensures his name will finally be engraved on it.

“It felt like it weighed two pounds,’’ Luongo said with a grin. “It was not heavy at all. I would lift it up all night if I could.’’

Luongo certainly savored the moment and was appreciative of the team he has loved for so long.

“The last couple of years, I really started to believe this was going to happen here,” Luongo said during the celebration on the ice. “You could see that our team was progressing toward something special. We kept building and adding to what we had. We changed the way we thought and the way we played.

“When (coach) Paul Maurice came in, he kind of changed the mentality of the boys and taught them how we needed to play to get it done. We came close last year when no one thought we would. This year, we were ready from the start.”

Luongo was a three-time Vezina Trophy finalist after selected by the Islanders in the first round (No. 4) of the 1997 NHL Draft. He played with the Panthers from 2000-06 before being traded to the Canucks. Luongo returned to Florida in a Trade Deadline deal in 2014 and led the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2016.

He owns all of the franchise’s goaltending records, including games played (572), wins (230), and shutouts (38). The five-time NHL All-Star ended his playing career ranked second in games played by a goaltender (1,044), fourth in wins (489), and ninth in shutouts (77). He is of only four goaltenders in NHL history to have played 1,000 NHL games.

Along with advising Zito, Luongo heads the Panthers’ goaltending department. He said it was a special moment to see Sergei Bobrovsky, the goalie who replaced him in Florida in 2019, get the Game 7 win with 23 saves.

“I’ve got to tip my hat to him,” Luongo said. “That’s not easy to do what he did. I know, I’ve been in his shoes. To come back and play a game like he did when you feel the pressure of the world on your shoulders, it takes somebody special to do that. He proved tonight that he’s one of the best.”

Regarding Bobrovsky’s legacy, Luongo said the 35-year-old will end up being considered one of the all-time greats after winning the Stanley Cup.

“That was the only thing missing for him,’’ Luongo said. “He’s won Vezina (Trophies). The Stanley Cup was the last thing he needed to accomplish. He did that, and I’m so happy for him.”