The Ring of Honour vs Jersey Retirement Debate

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“I know there’s a lot of debate about the Ring of Honour and the [retired number banner], but that stuff doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is moments like tonight and sharing it with you guys. So thank you very much. I look forward to seeing you next year.” – Roberto Luongo

Earlier this week, the Vancouver Canucks announced that Hall of Fame goaltender Roberto Luongo would be the eighth member of the team’s Ring of Honour at Rogers Arena.  This gesture from the Canucks organization to the greatest netminder the city has ever known has been seen as a slap in the face across Vancouver’s fanbase, and the league alike.

The belief across the National Hockey League seems to be that a Ring of Honour induction for Roberto Luongo doesn’t seem like enough for the goaltender who holds virtually every record between the pipes in franchise history, and people are really upset about it.  The only one who isn’t seems to be Roberto himself, who addressed the controversy with class and dignity during the Canucks Hall of Fame ceremony on Thursday night.  Saying that being honoured by the team, whether it be a jersey retirement or a spot in the Ring of Honour, is all that matters, as it gives him a chance to reconnect with the fans of Vanouver.

Roberto came to Vancouver in June of 2006, when the Canucks traded Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen, and Alex Auld to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Lukas Krajicek and Roberto Luongo.  This was heralded across the NHL as one of the biggest trades of the year, as the deal would theoretically give Vancouver their best goaltending since Kirk McLean’s nightly heroics in the early 1990s.  Luongo’s first season in Vancouver is the stuff of legends for goaltending aficionados and generally hockey fans alike, just due to his sheer work load.  Luongo started 76 games for the Canucks in 2006-07, winning forty seven of them, and spending nearly 4500 minutes in the crease that season.  He also got all of Vancouver’s wins that season, played every home game the team played, was voted to the NHL All-Star Game, and came second in voting for the Vezina Trophy for the league’s best goaltender, and came fifth in voting for the Hart Trophy for league MVP.

The standard of excellence that Luongo set in the Vancouver goal crease, and the Canucks dressing room as a whole over the next four years is virtually unmatched in franchise history.  The true face of the franchise, Luongo was named the team’s captain at the start of the 2008-09 season, the first goaltender to hold captaincy in the National Hockey League since Bill Durnan was the Captain of the Montreal Canadiens for one season in 1947-48.  Starting with him being named Captain on September 30, 2008, the Canucks would begin their most dominant run in franchise history, cruising to four Northwest Division Titles, two best in the Western Conference finishes, two President’s Trophies for the best regular season record in the National Hockey League, a Western Conference Championship, and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011.

Luongo’s tenure with the Canucks certainly wasn’t without it’s controversies.  Outside of the infamous “tire pumping” fiasco with Tim Thomas in the Stanley Cup Final, there’s also the equally infamous goaltending controversy with Cory Schneider.  Schneider, at the time, might’ve been the best young goaltender in the NHL, putting up great numbers for Vancouver in a backup role to Luongo, including the pair winning the William J. Jennings Trophy in 2011 for least goals allowed by a goaltending tandem in a season.  Coming into the lockout shortened 2013 season, there were calls from Canucks fan and fans around the League for Schneider to step out of Luongo’s shadow and become the Canucks starter.  The two handled the controversy with class and humour, even filming a tremendous piece with TSN about the “hidden truth” about the rivalry between the two.

The end of the road for Luongo in Vancouver came in 2014, but it wasn’t the way many fans expected it to go down.  It wasn’t Cory Schneider ousting Luongo from his crease (Schneider was actually traded the previous off-season for the draft pick used to select Bo Horvat), but a coach running him out of town.  After butting heads with new bench boss John Tortorella numerous times throughout the season, the final straw came when Torts started Eddie Lack over Lu to start the Heritage Classic outdoor game at BC Place against Ottawa.  Within a week, Luongo’s time in Vancouver was over.

So the question has to be raised, why wouldn’t you retire Luongo’s number?  He’s surely one of the all time legends of the franchise, and belongs in the same breath as Smyl, Linden, and Bure.  The Ring of Honour seems like a slap in the face to Luongo because the Ring of Honour was meant to honour the unsung heroes and fan favourites of the team, like Harold Snepts and Alex Burrows.  The only apparent thing keeping Luongo’s name and number out of the rafters at Rogers Arena is seemingly the legacy of Kirk McLean.

For those that don’t know, Kirk McLean previously held all the goaltending records in franchise history before Roberto Luongo’s run in Vancouver began.  McLean gave the Canucks ten and a half years of service between the pipes from 1987 until he was dealt in January of 1998.  McLean’s highlights include a pair of Division Titles, second goalie in team history to win a playoff round, first Canucks goalie to win a round in multiple years, first to win a game in the Stanley Cup Finals, a pair of Vezina nominations, and a Hart Trophy nomination in 1992.  All of this culminates with his incredible run in the 1994 playoffs.

McLean’s impact on the team is obviously massive, as he was the catalyst for the Canucks’ first period of sustained success, the very same thing that can be said about Roberto Luongo’s run with the team.  The answer?  Take a page out of the book of the hated New York Rangers and retire one number for two players.  Easy.

https://twitter.com/_JoeyPitt/status/1598367060907954176?s=20&t=7GVJmkrPzvuONuE5_ZJN9Q

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