Roberto Luongo

Last updated


BIOGRAPHY

BORN: St. Leonard, Quebec, April 4, 1979.
HOME:
HEIGHT: 6'3".
WEIGHT: 175 lbs.
UNIFORM #: 1 (NY Islanders, Florida, Canada)
CATCHES: Left

STYLE:
STRENGTHS:
WEAKNESSES:
Name pronounced luh-WAHN-goh.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:

"He turns 19 on April 4 and is considered the franchise's goalie of the future. Luongo started shakily with the Val d'Or Foreurs this season, but rebounded and, according to a club scout, "for the most part, he has been great." Goaltending consultent Gilles Gilbert has worked with Luongo on standing up more and handling the puck better." (Jim Smith, The Hockey News Future Watch 1998)

"Luongo has signed a three-year, $2.775-million contract with the Islanders, but will ripen in the AHL for at least one season because Milbury is expected to trade Tommy Salo and hand the starting job to Felix Potvin next season. Luongo has it all: size, poise, intelligence, reflexes and a good glove hand. He is not a great stick-handler, but who's perfect?" (Jim Smith, The Hockey News Future Watch 1999)

"Possibly one more full season away from playing with the Islanders, Luongo's a potential franchise goalie. The highest selection ever for a netminder, fourth overall in the 1997 draft, the Quebec athlete is a butterfly-style goaltender with outstanding form and size. Also possesses a glove hand and plays his angles brilliantly. Has led his junior club to two Memorial Cup tournaments and is destined to be a top-level goaltender in the NHL." (The Sports Forecaster 1999-2000, p. 105)

"Team brass does not feel the progress of the highest drafted goalie in NHL history [sic] was retarded in any way by his 23-game (6-14-1, 3.31 GAA) baptism by fire with the Isles, necessitated by an injury to veteran Wade Flaherty. The technically sound butterfly specialist still needs to work on controlling rebounds and handling the puck behind the net, but the team thinks he should gain invaluable experience backing Lowell in the American League playoffs. "We projected him to spend the whole year in the minors, but he certainly did not show he doesn't belong (in the NHL)," Islanders assistant GM and personnel director Gordie] Clark said." (Peter Botte, The Hockey News Future Watch 2000)

"Still the best goaltending prospect in the NHL - Rick DiPietro or no Rick DiPietro - Luongo is a butterfly-style goalie with tremendous form and size. Quick glove hand, too. Luongo, who starred in his NHL debut last season, a brilliant 2-1 win over the Bruins, was returned to the minors in February after the Isles wisely decided they shouldn't burn their hottest property at the time. Goaltenders with this kind of potential don't come around every year, and Panthers GM Bryan Murray, who orchestrated his acquisition, knows that. If he's given the proper time to settle in, Panthers fans will be spoiled by two franchise-type players - Pavel Bure and Luongo." (The Sports Forecaster 2000-01, p. 125)

"If the talented netminder had received any offensive support at all last year, he may have been the one getting all the accolades that Sharks rookie Evgeni Nabokov garnered. Luongo quickly displaced veteran Trevor Kidd early in the season and became the No. 1 backstop for the Panthers. He'll probably remain in that position for at least a decade. At 6-3, the Montreal native covers a lot of net. He also has tremendous technical ability and a burning desire to achieve. Luongo is already one of the best young goaltenders to come along in a while and is being compared to Hall of Fame types such as Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. For both Luongo and the Panthers, the best is yet to come." (The Sports Forecaster 2001-02, p. 127)

"The Panthers' future is in good hands with Luongo between the pipes. The 23-year-old QMJHL product is at the forefront of the next wave of great young NHL goaltenders. He played brilliantly in 2001-02, albeit in a losing cause on most nights, until a torn ankle ligament ended his year. Luongo is tall, rangy and athletic while his reflexes are lightning fast. He raises his game when the pressure mounts. His main problem may be a propensity to take on too much responsibility for his team's defensive shortcomings. Luongo enters the season primed to lead the Panthers back to respectability. The undisputed No. 1 goaltender can expect 65-70 appearances." (The Sports Forecaster 2002-03, p. 125)

"Luongo might not be a franchise goaltender yet, but he's getting close. In his fourth season, the former first-round pick set career highs for wins, games, saves, shots against and shutouts while eclipsing John Vanbiesbrouck's club record for shutouts. Not bad for a 24-year-old. Playing his first season under goaltending coach Clint Malarchuk, Luongo also made big strides in controlling rebounds and handling the puck. Luongo's shots against total was higher than any goalie other than the Blue Jackets' Marc Denis, which raises concerns he could get burned out if not given a better supporting cast or at least one that is more competent at limiting shots and clearing rebounds. A butterfly goaltender who has learned how to make himself big in net and who possesses an excellent glove hand, Luongo appears to be on the verge of joining the ranks of the elite as part of a changing of the guard at the position. Luongo was also superb in the World Championships, taking over for an injured Sean Burke and leading Canada to the gold medal. He said he felt his performance might have taken him to a new level in understanding the demands of the position." (The Sporting News Hockey Yearbook 2003-04, p. 41)

"Despite the fact Florida took Luongo to arbitration this summer, he's still the team's backbone and foundation. The big, athletic netminder is lightning quick and remains poised in all game situations. Luongo is capable of winning games all by himself. This season, he should get greater defensive support." (The Sports Forecaster 2005-06, p. 103)


TRANSACTIONS:

ACCOLADES:

VEZINA TROPHY BALLOTING:

PTS1st2nd3rdRANKSHARE
2003-044563630.30
2005-06401170.03
2006-071161415120.77

ALL-STAR TEAM BALLOTING:

PTS1st2nd3rdRANKSHARE
2003-0423232191520.45
2005-061201980.02
2006-075215286320.73

HART TROPHY BALLOTING:

LADY BYNG TROPHY BALLOTING:

INJURIES:

FIRSTS:

RECORDS:

PENALTY SHOTS:

NHL SHOOTOUTS:

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SEASON RECORDS:

REGULAR SEASON
Year  Team                        GP    Min   W   L   T  OL     GA    GAA   Shots    Sv%   ShO   G   A   PiM     S/60    PERS
94-95 Montreal-Bourassa Col. QAAA 25   1465  10  14   0         94   3.85                    0
95-96 Val d'Or Foreurs QMJHL      23   1199   6  11   4         74   3.70                    0   0   0     0
96-97 Val d'Or Foreurs QMJHL      60   3305  32  21   2        171   3.10    1742   .902     2   0   0     4    31.62  954.54
97-98 Val d'Or Foreurs QMJHL      54   3046  27  20   5        157   3.09    1547   .899     7   0   2    19    30.47  949.30
      Canada WORLD JUNIOR          3    145                      7   2.89
      Val d'Or Foreurs MEM CUP     3    180   0   3   0         19   6.33                    0
98-99 Val d'Or Foreurs QMJHL      21   1177   6  10   2         77   3.93     707   .891     1                  36.04  951.16
      Acadie-Bathurst Titan QMJHL 22   1341  14   7   1         74   3.31     764   .903     0                  34.18  960.11
      Canada WORLD JUNIOR          7    405                     13   1.93
      Acadie-Bathurst Titan M CUP  3    180   0   3   0         11   3.67                    0
99-00 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL    26   1517  10  12   4         74   2.93     807   .908     1   0   0     0    31.92  961.50
      New York Islanders NHL      24   1292   7  14   1         70   3.25     730   .904     1   0   0     0    33.90  960.61
00-01 Florida Panthers NHL        47   2628  12  24   7        107   2.44    1333   .920     5   0   0     2    30.43  970.45
      Louisville Panthers AHL      3    178   1   2   0         10   3.38     121   .917     0   0   0     0    40.79  985.33
      Canada WORLD                 2     84                      2   1.44      39   .949     0             0
01-02 Florida Panthers NHL        58   3030  16  33   4        140   2.77    1653   .915     4   0   1     2    32.73  969.86
02-03 Florida Panthers NHL        65   3627  20  34   7        164   2.71    2011   .918     6   0   0     4
03-04 Florida Panthers NHL        72   4252  25  33  14        172   2.43    2475   .931     7   0   3     2
      Canada WORLD CUP             1     64   1   0   0          3   2.82      40   .925     0   0   0     0
04-05 Canada WORLD                 2    120   1   0   1          3   1.50      43   .930     1   0   0     0
05-06 Florida Panthers NHL        75   4305  35  30       9    213   2.97    2488   .914     4   0   3     2
06-07 Vancouver Canucks NHL       76   4490  47  22       6    171   2.28    2169   .921     5   0   2    10
SEVEN (7) NHL SEASONS            417  23624 162 190  33  15   1037   2.63   12859  0.919    32   0   9    22

POST-SEASON
Year  Team                        GP    Min   W   L   GA    GAA   Shots    Sv%   ShO   G   A   PiM     S/60    PERS
95-96 Val d'Or Foreurs QMJHL       3     68   0   1    5   4.41                    0
96-97 Val d'Or Foreurs QMJHL      13    777   8   5   44   3.40                    0
97-98 Val d'Or Foreurs QMJHL      17   1019  14   3   37   2.18                    2   0   1    16
98-99 Acadie-Bathurst Titan QMJHL 23   1400  16   6   64   2.74                    0   0   2     0
99-00 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL     6    359   3   3   18   3.01                    0   0   1     0
06-07 Vancouver Canucks NHL       12    847   5   7   25   1.77     427   .941     0   0   0     0
ONE (1) NHL POSTSEASON            12    847   5   7   25   1.77     427   .941     0   0   0     0

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