Roberto Luongo is the greatest goaltender the Canucks have ever had — objectively (sorry, Kirk).
He leads the team in wins and shutouts and is near the top of every stat for goalies. And in the NHL he's fourth all-time in wins, which is a truly epic achievement.
Deservedly, he entered the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHoF) this weekend (along with Daniel and Henrik Sedin), as one of the best ever in the crease.
But in a complete change of pace during the weekend's legends game, which pitted hall of fame players and recent retirees against each other as part of the HHoF ceremonies, Luongo wasn't in net.
In fact, he was putting pucks in the net.
Luongo, now 43, got a chance to pass the puck around with other ex-NHLers, and it turns out he's pretty great on the break.
During the game, which pitted Team Lindros (including Luongo along with other ex-Canucks Kevin Bieksa, Dan Hamhius, and Cory Schneider (in net)) against Team Sundin (which included the Sedin twins and Brendan Morrison) Luongo broke in on net on a two-on-one and out waited longtime-NHL goalie Brian Boucher (or maybe panicked and got lucky).
His finishing move was a shot to the top of the net, popping the water bottle up.
You’re going to want to see this š¤©#HHOF2022 | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/aohn3XoINI
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) November 14, 2022
The exhibition game ended with a shootout (even though it wasn't a tie), giving Luongo a shot at a breakaway. On one chance (he got a couple) he undressed Boucher, deking to his backhand and popping it just inside the post.
LUUUUUUUU#HHOF2022 | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/aW7PUDmvAh
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) November 14, 2022
According to NHL.com, Luongo said when he was asked to play he agreed on the condition he didn't play net (though he still donned his #1 jersey).
"The best part was playing with the guys that I played with for a bunch of years," Luongo said.
