Vancouver Canucks roundtable: Should they retire Roberto Luongo’s number?

The Florida Panthers announced that they’ll be retiring Roberto Luongo’s number. Should the Vancouver Canucks do the same?

Former Vancouver Canucks All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo retired this offseason, and the Florida Panthers announced that they would retire his No. 1 uniform next year.

Luongo will be the first player to have his number raised to the rafters of the BB&T Center. But should the Canucks honour ‘Bobby Lu’ and retire No. 1 as well? Only Trevor Linden’s No. 16, Stan Smyl’s No. 12, Pavel Bure’s No. 10 and Marlus Naslund’s No. ho19 have been retired by the organization.

Daniel and Henrik Sedin will see No. 22 and 33, respectively, retired this upcoming season. It’s unlikely that the franchise would retire No. 1 the same year, but should the Canucks do it sometime in the future?

I asked our staff at The Canuck Way to debate if another Vancouver player should ever wear No. 1 again. So let’s get to it, and let us know what you think in the comments section.

Alex Hoegler

There is no question in my mind that Luongo’s number should be retired by the Canucks. In fact, I’d be very surprised if we didn’t see No. 1 retired to the rafters at Rogers Arena at some point within the next five years.

You might point out that Luongo only played eight seasons here in Vancouver. Well, Pavel Bure was only here for seven years, but the Canucks happily retired his No. 10 during the 2013-14 season — 15 years after he played his final game for the franchise.

The Canucks made the postseason in six of Luongo’s full seven seasons with Vancouver. They won six Northwest Division titles, two Presidents’ Trophy and came within one game of capturing the 2011 Stanley Cup.

Luongo is also the franchise leader in wins (252) and shutouts (38). Don’t forget that he was a member of the Canucks when Team Canada won Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014. Without Luongo, Canada probably doesn’t celebrate the gold medal on their own ice during the 2010 games here in Vancouver. So yes, I have zero doubt that the Canucks should and will retire No. 1 down the road. It’s a matter of when, not if.

David Quadrelli

Although he is hands down my favourite Canucks goaltender of all time, I’m not so sure that Luongo’s number should hang from the rafters at Rogers Arena. Personally, I am so indifferent to this whole discussion, and I’m not going to sit here and try to write why the greatest goaltender this franchise has ever known doesn’t deserve to have his jersey retired.

I simply feel that the Ring of Honour is sufficient enough, but I’m surprised at the number of people I’ve seen who don’t think Luongo should be honoured by the Canucks at all. He gave us all many great years and endless memories of filling Rogers Arena with “Luuuu” chants.

So do I think Luongo’s jersey should be retired by the Canucks? No. Do I think that the Canucks should honour him and his time in Vancouver in some way post-retirement, preferably the Ring of Honour? Certainly. Will I be mad if the organization does decide to retire his number? No.

Matthew Zator

Roberto Luongo was an icon and franchise player for a number of years in Vancouver. He probably played his best hockey here and was a great personality and leader in the dressing room.

He not only excelled on the ice, but in the community as well. So I would unequivocally say yes. The people that say no are just bitter about the circumstances around his departure from Vancouver. Former general manager Mike Gillis and head coach John Tortorella treated him with disrespect, not starting him in one of the more unique games in Canucks’ history.

Then, Gillis told him he was being shopped around, only to turn around and trade Cory Schneider. If I was him, I would probably want out of that situation too. Lack of communication and mixed messages are what drove Luongo out of Vancouver. Poor management should not tarnish the legendary career he had in a Canucks jersey.

Stephen Kronstein

A jersey retiring is something that can only happen once in a generation, or sooner than later there’ll be no numbers left, and in Vancouver, both of our legendary twins obviously deserve that honour.

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No matter if Corey outplayed Lu, no matter how wrong Torts was, trade-demanding Lu needed to leave the Canucks a few options if only to not screw over the fandom; the return for the greatest goalie in franchise history was paltry at best.

We the fans did nothing but love Lu, yet the snowbird flew his northern coop the moment he was merely asked to share his spotlight, and finally took his puck and couldn’t fly back home to Florida fast enough.

Furthermore, Bobby Lu’s recent siding with Florida –by choosing to retire rather than earn the remainder of his contract on LTIR — was hard to stomach as a Canucks fan feeling stunted by his recapture penalty, and will be even more so if through-and-through-Panther Lu ever lands that widely anticipated compensatory Floridian-front-office roll.

Luongo, I’m sorry, your Canucks jersey is not retireable in my books, yet I still love your legend enough to cheer your induction to our ring of honour.

Rick Warman

I feel that the Vancouver Canucks should not retire Roberto Luongo’s number and that the “Ring of Honour” would be sufficient. Although Luongo enjoyed a very good career as a Canucks goaltender, it was not exceptional.

In my opinion, certain criteria should be met for a player to be a recipient of such a distinction. They would need to have won multiple NHL awards or show dedication above and beyond towards that franchise. Requesting a trade and his recent retirement rather than going on long-term injury reserve — along with the subsequent recapture penalty imposed on the Canucks — do not show dedication. At least not to the Canucks franchise.

Jacob Calvert

The Vancouver Canucks should not retire Roberto Luongo’s jersey. I mean absolutely no
disrespect to Lu, but it would spit in the face of former Canucks netminder Kirk McLean.

McLean, who also wore the No.1  for the Vancouver Canucks, played 11 seasons with the organization, including 68 playoff games. Luongo played eight seasons as a Canuck, along with 64 playoff games — as well as backstopping one of, if not the best squad this team has ever had.

McLean’s team made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 1994 on the back of hisplay; while many argue that Luongo didn’t steal enough games during the iconic run in 2011. If McLean only gets the Ring of Honour treatment, Luongo should receive the same.

Luongo was an amazing goalie for the Canucks during his tenure, and while the return on his value left a sour taste in the mouth of a lot of fans, he was certainly no Ryan Kesler.

Ben Steiner

Roberto Luongo should not have his number retired for the Vancouver Canucks. Although he is the winningest and most iconic goalie the team has ever had, his number should not be lifted to the rafters. He is likely a Hall of Fame goalie — and the greatest the Canucks have ever had.

However, he is already getting his honour in Florida, and for a player to never win the Stanley Cup — to have his jersey retired by multiple teams puts a fallacy on the specialness. The reasons he will be inducted into the Hall is because of his 489 career wins, as well as a pair of gold medals — with the Olympic honours being the main thing. Since the international stage was so crucial to his career, and he is already receiving the honour in Florida, there is no reason the Canucks should retire No. 1.

Joshua Rey

Luongo is probably the best goalie in Canucks franchise history, and one of the best netminders the NHL has ever seen. In my opinion, Luongo deserves to have his number retired by the Canucks. He was loved here and gave his all for the Canucks sweater.

Sure, the way he left was sour — plus the cap recapture penalty he left our team with. But those should not overshadow his achievements here in Vancouver. You could say he didn’t perform enough in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, but the Canucks wouldn’t have gotten that far without him.

Luongo loved the city, the fans and played his heart out for the Canucks when he was here.  I think Luongo is one of the Canucks all-time greats, and he deserves to have his number raised to the rafters.