Roberto Luongo is so close, he can taste it. The legendary former Vancouver Canucks goaltender and Hockey Hall of Famer never won a Stanley Cup as a player.
Famously, he came up one win short in 2011.
But now, for the first time since 2011, he can finally hoist Lord Stanley’s mug. Not as a player, of course. Luongo is part of the Florida Panthers’ front office, holding the title of “Special advisor to general manager” since he retired as a player in 2019.
The Panthers have a 3-0 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers and can win their first Stanley Cup on Saturday.
Saturday happens to be June 15, the same date that Luongo and the rest of his Canucks teammates lost Game 7 to the Boston Bruins in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.
If Luongo does indeed win the Stanley Cup, he’ll become the first member of that 2010-11 Canucks team to do so since the crushing defeat 13 years ago.
Mikael Samuelsson and Aaron Rome have their names on the Cup, but that came before 2011. Some others have come close since then.
Ryan Kesler made it to the Western Conference Final with the Anaheim Ducks twice, losing in 2015 and 2017. The 2015 team lost in seven games to the Chicago Blackhawks, the eventual Stanley Cup winners. Kevin Bieksa was also a member of the 2017 Ducks team that lost in six games.
Tanner Glass made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final in 2015 with the New York Rangers.
Chris Tanev, the last active member of the 2011 team, made it to the Western Conference Final this season with the Dallas Stars.
Alex Burrows made it to the Stanley Cup Final as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens in 2021.
Speaking of coaches, Alain Vigneault lost in the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and the Eastern Conference Final in 2015, both times with the New York Rangers.
Former Canucks associate coach Rick Bowness has had a few close calls. He was on Jon Cooper’s staff with the Tampa Bay Lightning when they lost in the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 and the Eastern Conference Final in 2016 and 2018. Bowness also led the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup Final as a head coach in 2020.
Luongo had Stanley Cup heartbreak last season, when the Panthers lost in the Final to the Vegas Golden Knights. But finally, it looks like 25 years after he entered the league, Luongo will get a chance to drink out of the Cup.