Wearing a home red Florida Panthers’ jersey and blue team baseball cap, it was hard to tell what Fabio Luongo was more impressed with — the sight of his older brother, Roberto, posing for photos with the Stanley Cup, or the sheer number of people queued for their opportunity to meet him and have their picture taken.
“It’s surreal,” the 38-year-old owner of an Italian restaurant in St-Léonard said on Wednesday afternoon. “You’re used to him being a local hero, but I’m surprised so many people still want a picture with him. It goes to show you what type of player he was … that people still admire him.”
The former NHL goaltender with the New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks and Panthers on two separate occasions, had his day with the Cup on Wednesday. Florida defeated Edmonton 2-1 in Game 7 of June’s epic final, after the Panthers squandered a 3-0 series lead before securing their first NHL championship.
It seemed only fitting Luongo, now a Panthers front-office executive who works as a special adviser to general manager Bill Zito, would bring the chalice to the St-Léonard arena bearing his name. He spent an hour posing for photos with hundreds of hockey fans — young and old, male and female — for their opportunity to spend a brief moment with their local hero, while touching and seeing a trophy that hasn’t been won by the Canadiens since 1993 and appears to be years away from possibly returning.
“This is an opportunity,” said Johnny Gentile, accompanied by his wife and two sons. “A lot of people don’t touch (the Cup). It’s probably our first and last time. I’m 52. I’m not sure I’ll live until 80. It’s worth lining up for.”
“Seeing the Cup is emotional, it’s huge,” said Antonio Iacono, who arrived 90 minutes prior to the photo session. “Now I understand why it’s the most prestigious (trophy) in any professional sport. The amount of blood, sweat and tears they go through to get that. It’s unbelievable and pretty remarkable.
“Absolutely, this was worth lining up for,” he added. “It’s nice to see a St-Léonard boy succeed in the NHL and to have a great and illustrious career for so many years. I’m very proud.”
Raffi Atalla, 45, drew an interesting comparison between seeing the Cup and another special day in his life.
“It was something very special and very big,” he said. “It was like my wedding day. I won’t see another day like this in my life. It’s a very special day.”
While there were few Canadiens jerseys spotted in the crowd, hockey in Montreal is a year-round passion. And with this week’s acquisition of forward Patrik Laine from Columbus, the Canadiens’ outlook was in most people’s thoughts — especially on this cold, rainy day and with the start of training camp less than a month away.
“It seems like the Canadiens are heading in the right direction,” said Carlo Scrocco, 44, accompanied by his 12-year-old son, Dylan. “We’ll see. But I care more for the Panthers than the Canadiens.
“I’d love to see the Cup here in Montreal. I was 13 when they won the Cup. I remember being a kid and being so happy with a Canadiens jersey on, running around.”
Added Gentile: “It takes more than one trade and one player. There’s a lot of politics on the Canadiens. They have to change a lot of things.”
The Panthers, of course, have no such issues. And while an NHL title might not carry the same lustre in South Florida as it would in Montreal, the Panthers will enter the season as the team to beat while the Canadiens continue their rebuild, aspiring to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
But that’s a story for another day. This day belonged to Luongo, his fans and the Cup.
Luongo wasn’t signing autographs, nor was he giving interviews, leaving it to other family members to express the joy he was experiencing.
The former goalie never won the Cup as a player, coming close in 2011, when the Canucks lost in seven games to Boston. Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022 following a brilliant career spanning 19 seasons, Luongo finally had the opportunity last June to hoist the Cup over his head, ensuring his name will forever be engraved on the trophy.
“Winning it meant a lot,” Fabio said. “We went through all the good times and bad times. You saw the sadness he had when he came so close to the Cup a few times. We know what this means to him. We’ve been through everything with him. When you’ve been through everything you realize how great this moment was for him. It was always his dream to bring the Cup to his hometown.
“For sure as a player it’s probably a lot different,” the youngest of the three brothers added. “You’re on the ice, in the moment, more hands-on. As an executive, you’re working every day, at the office at 7 in the morning. He feels very much a part of it. I would have been devastated for him if he would have come so close again.”
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