Luongo says he might still be with Canucks if he started Heritage Classic
Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo said on Tuesday that he still might be with the Vancouver Canucks if he had started the Heritage Classic a year ago.
By
Adam Gretz
•
1 min read
The Florida Panthers will be in Vancouver on Thursday night, and that means it will be Roberto Luongo's first return to the city he called home for eight-and-a-half seasons before last year's trade.
Luongo said Tuesday that he still might be in Vancouver had former Canucks coach John Tortorella started him in last season's Heritage Classic game against the Ottawa Senators.
"There's no hiding it. I did want to play that game," Luongo said Tuesday afternoon, via the Canadian Press. "I mean that goes without saying, and if I would have played I probably would maybe still be here. Who knows?"
Instead of starting Luongo, who said at the time he had been looking forward to starting in an outdoor game, Tortorella started his backup, Eddie Lack, in what turned out to be a 4-2 Canucks loss.
The decision to start Lack followed what had been a rather tumultous year between the Canucks and Luongo after it seemed he was destined to be traded. When the Canucks traded Cory Schneider before the season instead, things seemed to be improving between the two sides up until that point.
Two days later the Canucks traded Luongo to Florida for goalie Jakob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias. Tortorella was fired after just one season with the team.
Luongo has been a rock in net for the Panthers in what is now his second stint with the team, carrying a .924 save percentage into Thursday's game against the Canucks. He has been one of the main reasons why the Panthers are currently in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
