Roberto Luongo was relaxed. He spoke about maturing throughout his many years in the National Hockey League and about trying to enjoy his return to Vancouver and Rogers Arena.
It was on that ice surface that Luongo backstopped Canada to a gold medal in the 2010 Olympics and where he and the Canucks came one win short of the franchise’s first Stanley Cup four years ago.
Four short years later, Vancouver’s NHL team is no longer a powerhouse Western Conference club and has undergone massive changes on the roster, front office and behind the bench.
In a tumultuous 2013-14 season, Luongo was dealt back to the Florida Panthers, the same team that traded the elite 35-year-old goaltender to Vancouver in the summer of 2006.
Sitting and watching the Heritage Classic last March ultimately accelerated Luongo’s trade out of Vancouver.
Luongo was parked on the bench in front of more than 50,000 fans at BC Place Stadium in favour of his friend and current Canucks backup Eddie Lack.
“There’s no hiding it. I did want to play that game. That goes without saying,” said Luongo at a press conference Tuesday afternoon after the Panthers skated at Rogers Arena.
“If I would’ve played, I’d probably maybe still be here. Who knows? I don’t know. I don’t like to use the term disrespected, especially after what I’ve been through over the last few years. I feel like whatever hand you’re dealt, you have to deal with it as best you can.”
On Thursday, Luongo will be in a Panthers uniform. He will walk out of the visitors’ dressing room and onto the visitors’ bench.
The very idea might still, more than 10 full months after the trade, seem to foreign to some, but not to Luongo.
“For some reason, I don’t look at it that way. I’m just trying to enjoy it, enjoy my time,” said Luongo.
Once a polarizing figure in Vancouver for how he handled the media and fan pressure — playoff collapses to the Chicago Blackhawks in back-to-back years didn’t help that reputation — Luongo won fan support back to his side toward the end of his time here for the class he portrayed during that lengthy goaltending controversy and the constant trade speculation that surrounded him.
He joked around and let people see his humourous side. His effort to regain the starting job through stronger play increased his popularity with the fan base.
Luongo was asked about the idea that he was misunderstood earlier in his time in Vancouver.
“I think earlier in my stay here, but that was a bit of my own fault as well,” he said.
“I think kind of figured that whole thing out toward the tail end of my stay here. That’s kind of a shame that’s the way it happened. Sometimes you have to go through some adversity to realize and understand and do the right things.
“Just my whole perspective on a lot of stuff has changed over the last couple of years and the way I handle things and just trying to have as much fun as I can out there.”
Fan reaction in these situations can always be tricky to forecast. Ryan Kesler, who demanded to be traded out of Vancouver but denied reports he did such a thing, had hoped for a warm reception from the Canucks faithful when he returned as a member of the Anaheim Ducks earlier this season.
He was booed every time he touched the puck.
Luongo, before he left Vancouver, was able to reconcile a connection with the fan base, which would leave one to believe the fans give him a positive salute him for his efforts here.
“I’m not sure. Luus and Boos — they all sound the same. I won’t be able to tell the difference,” he quipped. “I don’t know. Hopefully a good one but that’s not up to me. Either way I just want to enjoy the game.”
Source:: Metro News
