Roberto Luongo reveals shocking unknown detail about his playing career
Former NHL goalie Roberto Luongo revealed yesterday that the Detroit Red Wings attempted to sign him to an offer sheet going into the 2006-07 season.
Luongo was a guest on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast yesterday where he shared the story with Biz and the crew. The Red Wings offered him a deal before he signed in Vancouver, as he was traded there as a pending restricted free agent.
"The funny part about that is, and I don't know if anyone knows this, but when I was traded to Van (Vancouver) I didn't have a contract yet. I actually got offer sheeted by Detroit. I didn't accept it though. I didn't know at the time that it would have been more (money)."
However, Luongo made it clear that he never really thought about accepting the offer. Even though it would have been more money, he had just uprooted his entire life and did not want to do so again so rapidly.
One fan pointed out the irony of the situation. The Red Wings would go on to win the Stanley Cup final the very next year in 2008. They would return to the finals the year after as well, but drop the series to the Pittsburgh Penguins
Luongo very well could have had two Stanley Cup championships had he accepted the deal to go to Detroit. Instead, he would have to wait until 2024 when he finally got his ring as an executive with the Florida Panthers.
Despite the lack of championships as a player, Luongo easily made the Hall of Fame, which is a very tough task. The legendary goaltender made it look easy though with 489 career wins and a .919 career save percentage over 1000 games played.
Only Martin Brodeur, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Patrick Roy have more career wins than Luongo. Each of them are also the only netminders with more shutouts than Luongo. Only Brodeur played in more games. Of the four, Luongo is the only one to never win a Stanley Cup as a player.
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