The Canuck Way
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Canucks Rewind: The 2014 Heritage Classic and Luongo’s trade

By Zaahid Lalani

VANCOUVER, BC - MARCH 2: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Goalie Roberto Luongo #1 of the Vancouver Canucks watches the game from the bench during NHL action against the Ottawa Senators on March 02, 2014 at the 2014 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC - MARCH 2: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Goalie Roberto Luongo #1 of the Vancouver Canucks watches the game from the bench during NHL action against the Ottawa Senators on March 02, 2014 at the 2014 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /
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Former goalie Eddie Lack of the Vancouver Canucks. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)
Former goalie Eddie Lack of the Vancouver Canucks. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /

In typical fashion, the Canucks blew a two-goal lead that game, surrendering four goals en route to another loss, but that didn’t matter. All eyes were on Tortorella and Luongo during the post-game interviews, and everyone was eagerly waiting to see what would transpire in the aftermath of this situation.

And as we all know, it didn’t take long for the hammer to drop.

That game would end up being Luongo’s last in a Canuck uniform, as he was traded (back) to the Florida Panthers just two days later.

It was a sour exit for Luongo, who had played nearly a decade for the Vancouver franchise, and he still credits the snub as the main reason for adamantly requesting a trade. Luongo was asked about the benching a few years later, and he was just as candid as he was in 2014.

"“There’s no hiding it. I did want to play that game. I mean that goes without saying, and if I would have played I probably would maybe still be here. Who knows?”"

Luongo went on to play five more seasons with the Panthers, and, despite numerous injuries and a mediocre defensive core in front of him, was still able to put up respectable numbers as Florida’s starting netminder. He would announce his retirement on June 26th, 2019, officially putting an end to his Hall-of-Fame worthy career.

Fortunately, it appears that Luongo has moved on from this situation for the most part. He recently revisited the moment on Twitter, making sure to include his classic tongue-in-cheek humour to show that he didn’t have (too many) hard feelings towards Tortorella anymore.

Even Lack chimed in to “apologize.”

Nonetheless, this game will always cause a little pain and heartache for Canucks fans.

To this day, Luongo still holds the record for most wins as a Canuck goalie with 252, and would’ve undoubtedly passed Kirk McLean for most games played had he stayed with the organization, leaving us to truly ponder what could’ve been for the greatest goalie in franchise history.

The Canucks need more goals from Brock Boeser right now. dark. Next

What are your thoughts about this infamous Heritage Classic moment? Make sure to drop a comment below!

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