Roberto Luongo _ arguably the most popular player in Florida Panthers history _ will soon become the first player in team history to have his number retired.
Luongo, who retired on June 26 after a stellar 20-year career, will have his No. 1 jersey raised to the rafters at BB&T Center on March 7 against his hometown team _ the Montreal Canadiens.
The game starts at 7 p.m., but fans are encouraged to arrive at 5 p.m. for the special banner-raising ceremony. All fans at the game will receive a Luongo replica banner to commemorate the event.
The Panthers previously retired two other numbers _ 93 for the team's first president, Bill Torrey, to commemorate the franchise's inaugural game in 1993, and 37 in honor of franchise founder H. Wayne Huizenga, who passed away on March 22, 2018. That number was selected by the Huizenga family in recognition of his birth year and lucky number.
Luongo, a Parkland, Fla., resident and Montreal native, ranks second in NHL history in games played by a goaltender (1,044), third in wins (489) and ninth in shutouts (77). He is one of only three goaltenders in NHL history to have played in 1,000 games.
The Panthers originally acquired Luongo in a trade with the New York Islanders on June 24, 2000. During his first five seasons with the Panthers, he tied for the third-most shutouts (26), was a finalist for the 2003-04 Vezina Trophy and played in the 2004 All-Star Game. He spent the next eight seasons with Vancouver before returning to the Panthers in 2014.
The future Hall of Famer, a five-time All-Star, has 489 career wins _ the third-most in NHL history behind only Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy.
Luongo played 11 total seasons with the Panthers and is the team's all-time leader in wins (230), shutouts (38) and saves (16,068). His 572 games played in a Panthers uniform marks the fourth-most in franchise history by any player.
Luongo, the fourth pick in the 1997 draft by the Islanders, also was a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Canada (2010, 2014) and led the team to the 2004 World Cup of Hockey title.
