Hall of Fame goaltender Roberto Luongo fills in at Florida Panthers practice
Luongo, who retired in 2019, has been on the ice a handful of times over the past couple years
The Florida Panthers had a special guest join them on the ice for Thursday’s practice in Fort Lauderdale.
Skating at the brand-new Baptist Health IcePlex for only the second time, the Panthers were fresh off their 3-2 road victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, Florida’s first game following the NHL’s annual holiday break.
The short distance and same-day travel allowed Florida to hold a full team workout at the new facility, and joining them was former Panthers goalie and front office member Roberto Luogno.
He took the place of Florida starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who got the day off following his stellar outing against the Lightning the night before.
It’s a nice perk for the Panthers to have the ability to toss a Hockey Hall of Famer between the pipes if in need of a tendie.
“It's fun, right?” Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said following practice. “They came in and they were throwing muffins at him at first, and then they wanted to start scoring.”
By all accounts, Luongo held his own in net despite being five seasons removed from his last NHL game action.
He also seemed to really enjoy himself, as evidenced by the wide grin that was visible through his goalie mask.
Maurice, who had plenty of experience coaching against Luongo from his days both with Florida and the Vancouver Canucks, was impressed with what he saw on the ice Thursday.
“Even at his age, you can still see the talent is there,” Maurice said. “There are things that you just can't be as fast at as you get older, but the talent is still there, and the way he reads the play. He's watched so much hockey as a goaltender, but then he's watched 1,000 goalies since he took over his new position. He just reads the play so fast, so quick, and he still gets it done.”
Luongo was wearing the custom CCM Axis 2 gear he was gifted upon his retirement from the NHL.
The setup includes features from every stop of his career, from Long Island to Vancouver and, of course, South Florida, as well as elements taken from his time with Team Canada.
His career statistics are also included on the bottom of the right leg pad.
It was the second time in the span of a week that Luongo was on the ice dressed in full goalie gear.
He also manned the crease on Saturday for an alumni skate with the Panthers Warriors team of armed service veterans that took place at Amerant Bank Arena.
It begs the question of whether Luongo is starting to feel the itch to play more often, as he’s only manned the goal crease a handful of times since retiring.
While addressing the media following Thursday’s practice, Maurice was jokingly asked by Florida Hockey Now's George Richards if Luongo would be starting in goal the following night when Florida hosts the New York Rangers.
“Yes,” Maurice said, playing along, before adding, “He looked pretty good though. All joking aside, if you stepped in off the street and you had no idea, he looks like an NHL goalie. A little more gray in the beard, but he looked pretty good.”
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