Roberto Luongo never wore the skate jersey that the Vancouver Canucks made famous in the nineties but he apparently has a great deal of affection for it.
Why else would he make a call to bring back the skate jersey the capstone of his Ring of Honour speech?
The Canucks honoured Luongo on Thursday night not with a number retirement as he so richly deserves but with his face and name added to the Ring of Honour in between Harold Snepsts and Orland Kurtenbach. Cory Schneider played the role of host, while Daniel and Henrik Sedin gifted Luongo a jersey that, like the skate, he never wore: a jersey with his captain's "C" on it.
Luongo was clearly touched by the reception he received as he was introduced to the ice by his daughter and son, Gabriella and Gianni, as he received a thunderous "Luuuuuu" chant from the fans at Rogers Arena.
Luongo gave a heartfelt speech thanking his family, former teammates, and former coaches — yes, even John Tortorella, chiding fans when they reacted negatively to his mention.
"No, no," said Luongo with a smile, "he's a good coach!"
Luongo saved his biggest thanks until the end, thanking Canucks fans for everything they did for him, driving him to become even better.
"I want to thank you guys," said Luongo. "It wasn't always rainbows and butterflies, there were some harder times. But those times made me who I am today...and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart."
That would have been a fine place for Luongo to end his speech but he had one more thing to say.
"Last thing I’ll say is," said Luongo, "let’s free the skate jersey."
The Canucks have worn their black skate jersey several times this season, even more than they initially announced at the beginning of the season. There have been calls for the Canucks to bring back the jersey as their primary jersey. Now Luongo has joined those calls.
