He never won the Stanley Cup or the Vezina Trophy. But with 489 victories in the NHL, the fourth highest total, and an Olympic gold medal, goaltender Roberto Luongo saw the doors of the Hockey Hall of Fame open to him on Monday.
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The Montrealer will make his debut in November in Toronto, alongside his former Vancouver Canucks teammates, twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin, former Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson and Finnish forward Riikka Sallinen.
Herb Carnegie, considered the best black hockey player to ever play in the NHL, will also be inducted as a builder.
Like Luongo, no player in this 2022 vintage – the first in two years, due to the pandemic – has carried the Holy Grail of hockey at arm’s length.
“I never won the Stanley Cup, but I was able to play at the top of my game for several seasons,” noted the 43-year-old Quebecer during a conference call. And it’s because of my work ethic that I was able to perform like that for several years. »
Emotional and feverish
Luongo wore the uniform of the New York Islanders for only 24 games, the team that made him the fourth choice of the 1997 auction.
It is rather with the Florida Panthers and the Canucks that he left his mark in the history of his sport.
The goaltender will have been the captain in Vancouver for two seasons, an unusual fact in modern hockey. He helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 2011, where they lost to the Boston Bruins.
Luongo then returned to Florida, with the goal of taking the Panthers to the playoffs.
Which he achieved in 2016, three campaigns before hanging up his leggings at the venerable age of 40.
The Temple Call, Luongo received in his first year of eligibility. And it triggered great emotions in him.
“You never really expect that. When you answer and it’s [le Temple de la renommée] at the end of the line, it’s exciting,” conceded the former member of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Three Swedes
The Sedin twins will have done almost everything the same during their 17 seasons with the Canucks. Daniel will have collected 1041 points in 1306 games. Henrik, 1070 in 1330.
And here they are, the two Swedish attackers who became immortal on the same day, also in their first year of eligibility.
“My brother and I came into the league at the same time. It’s really special to enter the Temple with him. I’m so proud of this recognition,” said Daniel, who was drafted second overall, one spot ahead of his twin, in 1999.
The face of the Senators for almost two decades, Alfredsson had waited five years for the doors of the Hall of Fame to open for him.
For the attacker with 1157 points in 1246 games, this induction “is very special”.
“It’s an honor, added the Swede, double Olympic medalist, who is now 49 years old. We don’t think about it too much when we play, but now that I’m retired, I’m touched to find myself at the Temple alongside such big names. »
A European first
Finnish striker Sallinen became the first European hockey player to be admitted to the Hall on Monday.
The former player enjoyed a long and successful career on the international scene. She won Olympic bronze twice: in Nagano, in 1998, then in Pyeongchang, 20 years later.
She is also the oldest hockey player of any gender to have won a medal at the Games. She was then 44 years old.
The fight against prejudice
Inducted as a builder, Carnegie never played in the NHL.
At the time, Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smyth reportedly said of the center player that he “would have taken him on his team if someone could have made him white skin.”
The Torontonian had offers to play with the New York Rangers affiliates, but not with the big club.
He preferred to stay in Quebec, in the Quebec provincial hockey league and the Quebec senior hockey league, where he notably had a season of 127 points in 56 games, in Sherbrooke.
Carnegie also wore the Quebec Aces uniform, along with Jean Béliveau.
Died 10 years ago, Carnegie worked tirelessly to increase diversity in hockey after his retirement in the early 1950s.
In November, due to the pandemic, the 2020 inductees entered the Temple. Jarome Iginla, Marian Hossa, Kevin Lowe, Doug Wilson, Kim St-Pierre and Ken Holland were admitted.
Inspired by Grant Fuhr and Patrick Roy
Roberto Luongo grew up idolizing Grant Fuhr. When he played in the streets of his neighborhood, the Montrealer liked to imitate the mitt saves of the goaltender of the Edmonton Oilers dynasty.
Then, when he wanted to learn the basics of the position, Luongo was inspired by Patrick Roy.
And now he will become an immortal, like his two inspirations. But the Quebecer is not necessarily nostalgic for what goalkeepers were like in their time.
Because Luongo explained that he sees the evolution of the position with a good eye. He recalled Monday that he himself has tried to always progress for almost two decades in the circuit and that this may have opened the doors to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The best people
It is special, this class of 2022. There are several players who know each other well, including three former teammates with the Canucks in Luongo as well as Henrik and Daniel Sedin.
It was therefore to be expected that all these new immortals would throw flowers at each other on Monday when they spoke with the journalists a few hours after hearing the news.
And that’s what they did. Luongo will be inducted alongside two players he enjoyed training against during his years in Vancouver.
“The best thing about this induction is that I will enter the Hall alongside two of my all-time favorite teammates. Two of the best people I know”, rejoiced the former goalkeeper.
“It’s been amazing to watch them practice. To know that they could be on the ice without seeing each other. They were great competitors and great teammates,” he continued.
“I couldn’t be happier to be back at the same time as Henrik and Roberto,” added Daniel Sedin. Roberto is also one of my favorite people. »
Will Strombone be present?
Luongo is the fourth winningest goaltender in history, behind three other Quebecers: Martin Brodeur, Roy and Marc-André Fleury.
But on social networks he is recognized as one of the funniest athletes. On his Strombone1 Twitter account, “Lou” likes to multiply self-deprecating remarks.
And many fans are already hoping that his induction speech will be in the same vein.
“I will surely tweeter a bit during the ceremony, exclaimed Luongo. It’s something that helped me get through the tougher times. I try to be funny on this platform, but it’s really therapeutic. »
“We’ll see what happens in November, but I can’t promise [que je serai aussi drôle] ! »
No Stanley Cup but many medals
The four former NHL inductees into the Hall of Fame will never have had the privilege of lifting the Stanley Cup. But they will have distinguished themselves by their individual statistics and their performances on the international scene.
Roberto Luongo | Goalkeeper
Born in MontrealApril 4, 1979
Choice of 1is tour (4e in total) of the Islanders in 1997
19 seasons with the Islanders, Panthers and Canucks
1044 games: record of 489 wins, 392 losses and 124 draws or losses in overtime
Gold medalist at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010
Daniel Alfredsson | Attacking
Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, December 11, 1972
6th round pick (133e in total) of the Senators in 1994
18 seasons with the Senators and Red Wings
1246 games: record of 444 goals, 713 assists and 1157 points
Gold medalist at the Olympic Games in Turin in 2006 and silver in Sochi in 2014
1996 Calder Trophy winner
Henrik Sedin | Attacker
Né à Örnsköldsvik, en Suède, September 26, 1980
Choice of 1re ronde (3e au total) des Canucks in 1999
17 seasons with the Canucks
1330 games: record of 240 goals, 830 assists and 1070 points
2006 Turin Olympics Gold Medalist
Winner of the Hart and Art-Ross trophies in 2006
Daniel Sedin | Attacker
Né à Örnsköldsvik, en Suède, September 26, 1980
1st round pick (2e au total) des Canucks in 1999
17 seasons with the Canucks
1306 games: record of 393 goals, 648 assists and 1041 points
Gold medalist at the Olympic Games in Turin in 2006 and silver in Sochi in 2014
Hart and Ted-Lindsay trophy winner (2011)
Riikka Sallinen Attacker
Born in Jyväskylä, Finland, June 12, 1973
Bronze medalist at the Olympic Games in Nagano in 1998 and Pyeongchang in 2018
2019 World Championship silver medalist
Oldest female and male hockey player to win an Olympic medal (age 44)
First European female hockey player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame
Herb Carnegie | Builder
Born in Toronto, November 8, 1919
Died in Toronto, March 9, 2012
One of the first blacks to have a career in hockey; he dominated the semi-pro leagues in the 1940s and 1950s, never playing in the NHL
Played in Shawinigan, Sherbrooke and Quebec (alongside Jean Béliveau), amassing 608 points in 466 games in the Quebec provincial hockey league and the Quebec senior hockey league