Roberto Luongo

Roberto Luongo
Born	April 4, 1979 (1979-04-04) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
NHL team Former teams	Vancouver Canucks New York Islanders Florida Panthers
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	4th overall, 1997 New York Islanders
Playing career	1998–present

Roberto Luongo (born on April 4, 1979) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He employs the butterfly style of goaltending and has previously played in the NHL for the New York Islanders and the Florida Panthers.

Roberto is a two-time NHL Second All-Star (2004 and 2007) and a winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy for backstopping his team to the lowest goals-against average in the league (2011; with backup Cory Schneider).

He has additionally been a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender (2004, 2007 and 2011), the Lester B. Pearson Award as the top player voted by his peers (2004 and 2007) and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player (2007).

Prior to his NHL career, he played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the Val-d'Or Foreurs and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, winning back-to-back President's Cups and establishing the league's all-time playoff records in games played and wins.

Following his second QMJHL season, Roberto was selected fourth overall by the Islanders in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.

After splitting his professional rookie season between the Islanders and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Lowell Lock Monsters in 1999–2000, Roberto was traded to the Panthers.

In five seasons with Florida, he established team records for most all-time games played, wins and shutouts.

During the 2006 off-season, Roberto was traded to the Canucks after failed contract negotiations with the Panthers.

Following his second year with the Canucks, he became the first NHL goaltender to serve as a team captain since Bill Durnan in the 1947–48 season.

Roberto served in that capacity for two seasons before resigning from the position in September of 2010.

In the subsequent 2010–11 season, he helped the Canucks to Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals and lost to the Boston Bruins.

During Roberto's tenure with Vancouver, he has become the team's all-time wins and shutouts leader.

Internationally, Roberto has competed for Team Canada in numerous tournaments. As a junior, he won a silver medal at the 1999 World Junior Championships while being named Best Goaltender in his second tournament appearance.

He has won two gold medals at the 2003 and 2004 World Championships and a silver in the 2005 World Championships.

Roberto also won the 2004 World Cup championship and appeared in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin as a backup to Martin Brodeur in both instances.

He succeeded Brodeur as Canada's starting goaltender during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, winning a gold medal. On January 7, 2014, Roberto was named to the 2014 Canadian Olympic Hockey Team.

Career Statistics

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	OTL	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1994–95	Montreal-Bourassa	QAAA		25	10	14	0	—	—	94	—	3.85	—
1995–96	Val-d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		23	6	11	4	—	1201	74	0	3.70	.878
1996–97	Val-d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		60	32	21	2	—	3302	171	2	3.10	.902
1997–98	Val-d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		54	33	19	0	—	3043	157	7	3.09	.899
1998–99	Val-d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		21	6	10	2	—	1476	77	1	3.93	.902
1998–99	Acadie-Bathurst Titan	QMJHL		22	14	7	1	—	1342	74	0	3.31	.914
1999–00	Lowell Lock Monsters	AHL		26	10	12	4	—	1517	74	1	2.93	.908
1999–00	New York Islanders	NHL		24	7	14	1	—	1292	70	1	3.24	.908
2000–01	Louisville Panthers	AHL		3	1	2	0	—	178	10	0	3.38	.917
2000–01	Florida Panthers	NHL		47	12	24	7	—	2628	107	5	2.44	.920
2001–02	Florida Panthers	NHL		58	16	33	4	—	3030	140	4	2.77	.915
2002–03	Florida Panthers	NHL		65	20	34	7	—	3627	164	6	2.71	.918
2003–04	Florida Panthers	NHL		73	25	33	14	—	4252	172	7	2.43	.931
2005–06	Florida Panthers	NHL		75	35	30	—	9	4305	213	4	2.97	.914
2006–07	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		76	47	22	—	6	4490	171	5	2.29	.921
2007–08	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		73	35	29	—	9	4232	168	6	2.38	.917
2008–09	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		54	33	13	—	7	3181	124	9	2.34	.920
2009–10	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		68	40	22	—	4	3899	167	4	2.57	.913
2010–11	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		60	38	15	—	7	3590	126	4	2.11	.928
2011–12	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		55	31	14	—	8	3162	127	5	2.41	.919
2012–13	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		20	9	6	—	3	1197	51	2	2.56	.907
NHL totals				747	348	289	33	53	42887	1800	62	2.52	.919
QMJHL totals				180	85	70	9	—	8892	554	10	3.30	—

Playoff Statistics

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SA	SV%
1996	Val-d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		3	0	1	68	5	0	4.41	—	—
1997	Val-d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		13	8	5	777	44	0	3.39	—	—
1998	Val-d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		17	14	3	1019	37	2	2.17	—	—
1998 MC	Val-d'Or Foreurs	QMJHL		3	0	3	180	19	0	6.33	—	—
1999	Acadie-Bathurst Titan	QMJHL		23	16	6	1400	64	0	2.74	—	—
1999 MC	Acadie-Bathurst Titan	QMJHL		3	0	3	180	11	0	3.67	—	—
2000	Lowell Lock Monsters	AHL		6	3	3	359	18	0	3.00	222	.919
2007	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		12	5	7	847	25	0	1.77	427	.941
2009	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		10	6	4	618	26	1	2.52	304	.914
2010	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		12	6	6	707	38	0	3.22	362	.895
2011	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		25	15	10	1427	61	4	2.56	711	.914
2012	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		2	0	2	117	7	0	3.59	64	.891
2013	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		3	0	2	140	6	0	2.57	71	.915
NHL totals				64	32	31	3856	163	5	2.54	1939	.916
QMJHL totals				56	38	15	3264	150	2	2.75	—	—

International Statistics

Year	Team	Event		GP	W	L	T	SO	GAA
1995	Québec	U17		Stats unavailable
1998	Canada	WJC		3	0	0	0	0	2.89
1999	Canada	WJC		7	4	2	1	0	1.93
2001	Canada	WC		2	1	0	0	0	1.44
2003	Canada	WC		4	3	0	1	1	1.98
2004	Canada	WC		7	5	1	1	1	2.32
2004	Canada	WCH		1	1	0	0	0	2.82
2005	Canada	WC		2	1	0	1	1	1.50
2006	Canada	Oly		2	1	1	0	0	1.51
2010	Canada	Oly		5	5	0	0	1	1.76
Junior int'l totals				10	4	2	1	0	2.22
Senior int'l totals				23	17	2	3	4	1.94

Awards & Achievements

NHL Awards

• NHL YoungStars Game (2002)
• NHL Second All-Star Team (2004 and 2007)
• Mark Messier Leadership Award (March 2007)
• NHL All-Star Game (2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009)
• Scotiabank Fan Fav Award (2009)
• William M. Jennings Trophy (2011)

Vancouver Canucks

• Most Exciting Player Award (2007)
• Cyclone Taylor Award (2007 and 2008)
• Molson Cup (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011)
• Team Captain (2008–2010)

International Awards

• World Junior Best Goalie (1999)
• World Junior All-Star Team (1999)
• IIHF World Championship gold medallist (2003 and 2004)
• World Cup champion (2004)
• Winter Olympic gold medallist (2010)

Records

Val-d'Or Foreurs Records

• Most wins in a season: 32 in 1996–97

QMJHL Records

• Most shutouts in a season: 7 in 1997–98 (tied with Nick Sanza, 1974–75; Adam Russo, 2002–03; Kevin Poulin, 2009–10)
• Most wins in a single playoffs: 16 in 1999 (tied with Michel Morisette, 1982; Eric Fichaud, 1994; Eric Lafrance, 2003; Jonathan Bernier, 2007; Ryan Mior, 2008; Nicola Riopel, 2010)
• Most games played all-time, playoffs: 56 from 1995–99 (surpassed Marc Denis, 43 games played, 1994–97)
• Most minutes played all-time, playoffs: 3,264:22 from 1995–99 (surpassed Marc Denis, 2,518:07, 1994–97)
• Most wins all-time, playoffs: 38 from 1995–99 (surpassed Robert Desjardins, 30, 1984–87)
• Most shots faced all-time, playoffs: 1,808 from 1995–99 (surpassed Manny Fernandez, 1,351, 1991–94)

NHL Records

• Most saves in a single season: 2,303 in 2003–04 (surpassed Felix Potvin, 2,214 in 1996–97)
• Most shots faced in a single season: 2,488 in 2005–06 (surpassed himself, 2,475 in 2003–04)
• Most shots faced in a single playoff game: 76 on April 11, 2007
• Most home games played in a single season: 41 in 2006–07
• Most regular season overtime wins, all-time: 49 (as of 2008–09)

Florida Panthers Records

• Longest shutout streak: 144:51 minutes in 2002–03
• Most shutouts in a season: 7 in 2003–04 (surpassed himself, six shutouts in 2002–03; tied with Tomas Vokoun, 2009–10)
• Most wins in a season: 35 in 2005–06 (surpassed John Vanbiesbrouck; 27 wins in 1996–97)
• Most games played in a season: 75 in 2005–06 (surpassed himself, 72 games played in 2003–04)
• Most games played all-time: 318
• Most wins all-time: 108 (surpassed John Vanbiesbrouck; 106 wins)
• Most shutouts all-time: 26 (surpassed John Vanbiesbrouck; 13 shutouts)

Vancouver Canucks Records

• Most saves in a single game: 72 on April 11, 2007
• Longest shutout streak: 242:36 minutes (2008–09) (surpassed himself, 184:20 minutes in 2007–08)
• Most wins in a season: 47 in 2006–07 (surpassed Kirk McLean; 38 in 1991–92)
• Most games played in a season: 75 in 2006–07 (surpassed Gary Smith; 72 in 1974–75)
• Most shutouts in a season: 9 in 2008–09 (surpassed Dan Cloutier; 7 in 2001–02)
• Lowest GAA in a season: 2.11 in 2010–11 (surpassed Dan Cloutier; 2.27 in 2003–04)
• Most shutouts all-time: 33 (surpassed Kirk McLean, 20)
• Most wins all-time: 224 (after end of 2011-2012 season; surpassed Kirk McLean, 211)

International Play

Medal record
Competitor for Canada
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
Gold	2010 Vancouver
World Championships
Silver	2005 Austria
Gold	2004 Czech Republic
Gold	2003 Finland
World Cup
Gold	2004 Canada
World Junior Championships
Silver	1999 Canada
Competitor for Template:Country data Quebec
World U-17 Hockey Challenge
Bronze	1995 Canada

Roberto made his international debut at the 1995 World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Moncton, New Brunswick with Team Québec winning bronze.

Three years later, he was named to the Canadian national junior team for the 1998 World Junior Championships in Finland.

He played backup to Victoriaville Tigres goaltender Mathieu Garon, going winless in three appearances with a 3.70 GAA, as Canada finished in eighth place.

Roberto became the starting goaltender the following year at the 1999 World Junior Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba, appearing in seven of Canada's eight games.

He recorded a shutout in the first game of the tournament against the Czech Republic, making 36 saves in a 0–0 tie.

Roberto went on to help Team Canada to the gold medal game against Russia, but lost in overtime, surrendering a goal to Artem Chubarov.

With a 1.92 GAA and two shutouts, Roberto was given Best Goaltender and All-Star Team honours.

He made his first appearance with the Canadian men's team at the 2001 World Championships in Germany.

Roberto played backup to Fred Brathwaite of the Calgary Flames before injuring his finger during the first game of the qualification round against Switzerland on May 4, 2001.

Roberto returned home to Florida as Vancouver Canucks goaltender Dan Cloutier replaced him which ended his tournament debut with a 1.44 GAA in two games. Canada finished in fifth place.

During Roberto's next appearance at the 2003 World Championships in Finland, Luongo began the tournament as backup to the Phoenix Coyotes' Sean Burke. He earned wins against Latvia in the preliminaries and Switzerland in the qualifying round.

During the semifinals against the Czech Republic, Roberto replaced Burke after he left the game with a lower-body injury eight minutes into the second period. He allowed four goals in relief, but earned the win as Canada defeated the Czechs 8–4.

With Burke still out for the gold medal game, Roberto made 49 saves against Sweden in a 3–2 overtime win. Despite his medal round efforts, Burke was named the Best Goaltender for the tournament as he played in the majority of Team Canada's games.

The gold-medal winning 2003 team was later named the Canadian Press national sports team of the year on January 2, 2004.

Roberto made his third appearance at the World Championships in 2004 in the Czech Republic.

He played in seven games as the starting goaltender, recording a 2.32 GAA and one shutout, as Canada captured its second straight gold medal at the tournament, beating Sweden 5–3 in the final.

Several months later, Roberto competed for Team Canada in the 2004 World Cup as backup to Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils.

It marked his first international tournament in which all NHL players were eligible as the annual World Championships conflict with the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Roberto had another opportunity to step in for the starting goalie when Brodeur pulled himself out prior to the semi-final game against the Czech Republic due to a sprained wrist.

Filling in for Brodeur, Roberto made 37 of 40 stops in a 4–3 overtime victory to put Team Canada into the finals against Finland. Brodeur returned for the championship game to backstop Team Canada to a 3–2 win.

Roberto appeared in his fourth World Championships in 2005. Due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout, all NHL players were available for the tournament in Austria and he played backup to Brodeur.

Roberto appeared in two games, including a shutout win against Slovenia in the round-robin. He earned a silver medal as Team Canada was shut out by the Czech Republic 3–0 in the final.

Roberto was named to his first Winter Olympics in 2006. The tournament was held in Turin, Italy, his country of cultural origin. Again, He played behind Brodeur and appeared in two games.

He made his Olympic debut in the second game of the round-robin with a 5–1 win against Germany. Roberto's second appearance of the tournament was a loss to Finland, also in the round-robin.

Team Canada had entered the tournament as the defending gold medal champions from the 2002 Winter Olympics, but they were eliminated facing Russia in the quarter-finals and finished in seventh place.

Leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics, to be held in Roberto's NHL hometown of Vancouver, he and Brodeur were considered locks to be named to the national team heading into the summer orientation camp in August of 2009 and speculation began as to who would be appointed the starting position.

On December 31, 2009, Roberto was selected to Team Canada, along with Brodeur and Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins as the three goaltenders. He was given the start for the first game against Norway.

He recorded his first Olympic shutout, making 15 saves in an 8–0 win to open the tournament.

After Brodeur surrendered four goals in a 5–3 loss to the United States in their final preliminary game, Roberto replaced him as the starting goalie.

He helped Canada to four consecutive single-elimination game wins against Germany, Russia, Slovakia and the United States to capture the gold medal.

During the semifinal against Slovakia, Roberto made a game-saving stop against Canucks teammate Pavol Demitra with nine seconds to go in regulation.

With Slovakia's goaltender pulled and down by a goal, the puck bounced to Demitra by the side of the net.

Out of position, Roberto managed to get his glove on the puck, deflecting it away from the net and preserving the win.

In the subsequent gold medal game, he made 34 saves in Canada's overtime win against the United States.

On March 11, 2010, Roberto carried the torch into Robson Square in Downtown Vancouver for the 2010 Paralympics.

Career Transactions

• June 21, 1997: Selected by the New York Islanders in the first round (fourth overall) in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.
• January 8, 1999: Signed by the New York Islanders to a three-year, $2.775 million contract.
• June 24, 2001: Traded to the Florida Panthers along with Olli Jokinen in exchange for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha.
• August 25, 2005: Granted a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the Florida Panthers by arbitration.
• June 23, 2006: Traded to the Vancouver Canucks along with Lukáš Krajíček and a sixth-round selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft (Sergei Shirokov) in exchange for Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alex Auld.
• June 29, 2006: Signed a four-year, $27 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks.
• September 2, 2009: Signed a 12-year, $64 million contract extension with the Vancouver Canucks.

Playing Style

Roberto plays in the butterfly style of goaltending, dropping to his knees with his skates pointing outwards and his pads meeting in the middle in order to cover the bottom portion of the net.

Due to the style of play, groin injuries are common for butterfly goalies and Roberto suffered one during the 2008–09 season and missed 24 games.

An athletic goaltender, Roberto is known for having quick reflexes, particularly with his glove.

One of his early goaltending coaches, François Allaire has remembered Roberto to have had the "best catching glove [he'd] ever seen in a kid" when he first came to his goaltending school in Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé, Québec, Canada when he was 14 years old.

Allaire is known to be a strong proponent of the butterfly style. At 6 feet and 3 inches, Roberto is able to cover a lot of net with his size.

Observers also note the strong concentration, competitiveness and mental aspects of Roberto's game. On the other hand, his puck-handling skills have been described as a weakness.

Roberto's style began to be directed during his midget years with Allaire and Montreal-Bourassa goaltending coach Mario Baril.

He sent tapes of his play to Allaire during his rookie season in the QMJHL and his former goaltending coach advised Roberto to be more aggressive and come out of the net more to cut off angles and challenge shooters.

Later in Roberto's NHL career, the Canucks hired a new goaltending coach, Roland Melanson, prior to the 2010–11 season.

Working with Melanson, he began playing deeper in his crease against Allaire's original advice which allowed him to maintain positioning for rebounds.

The following season, Melanson further tweaked Roberto's style, encouraging him to extend and elevate his glove after his hand's usual low positioning was interpreted to have become a weakness.

Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault has said that Luongo plays best with more playing time over the length of the season.

Throughout Roberto's career, he has garnered lots of playing time, including four consecutive 70-game seasons from 2003–04 to 2007–08 between the Florida Panthers and Canucks.

He has been known to suffer from slow starts to the season, usually in the first month of October.

In Roberto's first three Octobers with the Canucks, he posted a combined 10–13–0 record and a .899 save percentage (numbers that are well below his career pace.)

He is also known for his leadership qualities. He received the Mark Messier Leadership Award in his first season with the Canucks for the month of March 2007.

Prior to his third season with Vancouver, he was named Markus Näslund's successor as team captain and the first goaltender to be named a captain in 59 years.

Teammate Mattias Ohlund (who served as alternate captain to Roberto for one season) described him as a vocal leader while he has also identified that quality in himself.

General manager Mike Gillis described Roberto's commitment level as "unprecedented", adding that "he'd be a great example for our younger guys" at the time of the captaincy announcement.

Roberto served in that capacity for two seasons before stepping down prior to the 2010–11 season.

Personal Life

Roberto was born to Pasqualina and Antonio Luongo in Montreal, Quebec.

His father is an Italian immigrant born in Santa Paolina, Avellino. He worked in the construction and delivery of furniture.

His mother (an Irish-Canadian) worked in marketing with Air Canada. Antonio and Pasqualina married in Montreal after Antonio emigrated there in 1976.

He has two younger brothers, Leo and Fabio, who were also aspiring goaltenders. Fabio made it the further out of the two, playing Junior A in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) with the Williams Lake Timberwolves in 2004–05 before succumbing to injuries.

Fabio has since become a Junior AAA coach while Leo is a goaltending coach in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

Roberto and his family lived in St. Leonard, Quebec, a borough north of Montreal with a strong Italian community (just four blocks away from Martin Brodeur who became the goaltender for the New Jersey Devils six years before Roberto entered the NHL).

Roberto is fluent in English, French and Italian. His father spoke Italian and his mother spoke English with a little French at home.

He graduated from Antoine de St-Exupéry in Montreal (a Francophone high school) in 1996.

While playing with the Florida Panthers, Roberto met his wife, Gina Cerbone, at a team hangout called the Pizza Time Trattoria.

Gina is the daughter of the Italian restaurant owner, Umberto Cerbone who is originally from Naples while Gina's mother is from Palermo. Roberto proposed to her under the Bridge of Sighs in Venice in 2004.

They lived in Broward County, Florida during Roberto's tenure with the Panthers, however within a month of moving into a new home in Florida, Roberto was traded to Vancouver.

They subsequently moved into the Vancouver neighbourhood of Yaletown while spending Roberto's off-seasons in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Their first child, Gabriella, was born on March 27, 2008.

Roberto had been chosen as a starting goaltender for the 2008 NHL All-Star Game, but he chose not to attend in order to be with Gina, who was pregnant with Gabriella at the time and had returned to Florida.

On December 27, 2010, Gina gave birth to the couple's second child, Gianni Antonio.

Luongo is involved with several charities. Like many Canucks players, Roberto has spent time with Canuck Place, a children's hospice in Vancouver. He also sponsors a spectator's box in Rogers Arena that is reserved for underprivileged children to attend Canucks games.

At the end of games in which he has been named one of the three stars, Roberto has been known to give away his goalie stick to a fan in the crowd.

In the summer of 2009, he hosted the Roberto Luongo Golf Open to benefit Montreal Children's Hospital, Sainte-Justine Hospital and a seniors centre network in Saint-Léonard.

In addition to being an avid golfer, Roberto also enjoys playing poker.

In September of 2011, Roberto was inducted into the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario.