Luongo hangs ‘em up
Two-time Olympic gold medallist and two-time world champion calls it a career after 11 international appearances
Roberto Luongo announced his retirement Wednesday, bringing to a close one of the most decorated international careers ever by a Canadian goaltender.
His final Team Canada résumé includes 34 games across 11 appearances, two Olympic Winter Games gold medals (2010, 2014), two trips to the top of the podium at the IIHF World Championship (2003, 2004) and a World Cup of Hockey title (2004).
The Montreal native made his debut in red and white at the 1995 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Moncton, N.B., helping Quebec to a bronze medal.
A member of Canada’s National Junior Team at the 1998 IIHF World Junior Championship, Luongo burst onto the international scene a year later in Winnipeg, earning Top Goaltender honours and a spot on the media all-star team after posting a 1.92 goals-against average and .942 save percentage in a silver-medal performance.
Two years later he made the jump to the IIHF World Championship, making what would be the first of four appearances in a five-year span. Two of those ended with a gold medal – Luongo went a combined 9-1-1 in 2003 and 2004 – and he added silver to his collection in 2005.
He retires fourth in all-time games played by a Canadian goaltender at worlds (15), and sits third in wins (12) behind Sean Burke and Cam Ward.
A first-time Olympian in 2006, the highlight of Luongo’s international career came at the 2010 Games in Vancouver; he backstopped Canada to a historic home-ice gold, winning all five of his starts and finishing with a 1.76 GAA.
He added a second Olympic gold four years later in Sochi in his international swan song, posting a 23-save shutout of Austria in his lone start.
The fourth-overall pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Luongo finishes his career with 489 wins and 77 shutouts in 1,044 games with the New York Islanders, Florida and Vancouver. A two-time member of the NHL Second All-Star Team and five-time participant in the NHL All-Star Game, he ranks second all-time in games played, third in wins, second in saves (28,409) and ninth in shutouts.
ROBERTO LUONGO
| Year | Team | Event | GP | MIN | GA | GAA | SO | W-L-T | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | QUE | WU17 | 4 | 224 | 13 | 3.49 | -- | -- | Bronze |
| 1998 | CAN | WJC | 3 | 146 | 9 | 3.70 | 0 | 0-2-0 | 8th |
| 1999 | CAN | WJC | 7 | 405 | 12 | 1.92 | 2 | 4-2-1 | Silver |
| 2001 | CAN | WC | 2 | 83 | 2 | 1.44 | 0 | 2-0-0 | 5th |
| 2003 | CAN | WC | 4 | 212 | 7 | 1.98 | 1 | 4-0-0 | Gold |
| 2004 | CAN | WC | 7 | 440 | 17 | 2.32 | 1 | 5-1-1 | Gold |
| 2004 | CAN | WCup | 1 | 64 | 3 | 2.82 | 0 | 1-0-0 | 1st |
| 2005 | CAN | WC | 2 | 120 | 3 | 1.50 | 1 | 1-0-1 | Silver |
| 2006 | CAN | OLY | 2 | 118 | 3 | 1.51 | 0 | 1-0-1 | 7th |
| 2010 | CAN | OLY | 5 | 308 | 9 | 1.76 | 1 | 5-0-0 | Gold |
| 2014 | CAN | OLY | 1 | 60 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 1-0-0 | Gold |
| CAN | TOTAL | 34 | 1956 | 65 | 1.99 | 7 | 24-5-4 |
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