NHL legend and retired netminder Roberto Luongo recently strapped the pads back on for a big game.
But the goalie wasn’t attempting a professional hockey comeback. Instead, he was helping a local beer league team that needed someone to play between the pipes.
A video posted to social media shows the all-time great surprising his new team ahead of what was supposedly their championship game.
“Ready boys?” says Luongo as he shocks his new teammates. “We need some defence, okay?”
Roberto Luongo responded to a “goalie needed” ad on Facebook and helped a beer league team defeat the 5-time defending champions in their playoff game 4-2 😂🔥
(via IG/bryceshockeylife) pic.twitter.com/OkNdjvPUXY
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) September 10, 2024
The legendary goalie is wearing pads that have the colours of both the Florida Panthers and Vancouver Canucks mixed together. They look scuffed up like they’ve been getting some good use lately.
The team Luongo joined was reportedly facing off against a juggernaut squad that had won the championship in five straight years. Buoyed by a Hall of Fame goaltender, Luongo’s team won the game 4-2 according to several different sources, upsetting the defending champions.
The 45-year-old is not that far removed from his playing days as he retired in 2019.
Few goalies throughout NHL history can match Luongo’s resume. He’s fourth in all-time wins and ninth in all-time shutouts. He was one of the best not only in his generation, but also across the entirety of the sport’s history. The Canucks put the goalie into their team’s Ring of Honour last season.
It’s been a good year for Luongo as the Florida Panthers executive won his first Stanley Cup. He’s been working in the team’s management for roughly five years and finally got his hands on the sports ultimate trophy. He was hired into the Panthers front office shortly after retiring from his playing days.
He enjoyed his day with the Stanley Cup and posted a video of him and his family eating pasta out of the trophy’s bowl.