Luongo honored, showered with gifts by Panthers for playing 1,000th game

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers wanted to honor Roberto Luongo, so they invited his old team to be there too.

The Panthers celebrated the veteran goalie for reaching 1,000 NHL games in a ceremony before the Panthers faced his former team the Vancouver Canucks at BB&T Center on Saturday.

Luongo, who is 471-376-86 with 33 ties in 19 seasons, is one of three goalies with at least 1,000 NHL games, along with Martin Brodeur (1,266) and Patrick Roy (1,209). He played 530 games in two stints with the Panthers and 448 games with the Canucks after playing 24 games as a rookie with the New York Islanders in 1999-2000 before he was traded to Florida in June 2000.
"That was definitely one thing I looked at when they told me about it," Luongo said. "I was happy that it happens to be with the two clubs I spent most of my career with. That really does make it a little extra special. It's a little too bad I don't really know any of the players on the other side, except for maybe a couple guys."

The tribute featured a video of Luongo's career highlights and he was presented with several gifts, including a golden goalie stick and a framed portrait, as the crowd frequently chanted "Looouuu."
Luongo reached the milestone April 5 in a 3-2 victory against the Boston Bruins at BB&T Center, but because the Panthers still had playoff hopes with two games remaining in the 2017-18 regular season, he asked the Panthers to delay any ceremony until this season.
Luongo is on injured reserve after injuring his knee in the Panthers' season opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 6.
"I'm just disappointed that I won't be able to play," Luongo said, "but at the end of the day it might be good to having more energy to focus on the thing and not be worried about the game so much knowing that I won't be on the ice."