Dinner is served.
Most players who get to hoist the Stanley Cup trophy will usually drink out of it, celebrating along the way.
But not for Roberto Luongo.
He decided to slow things down and have an Italian pasta dish, likely reminiscing on his rise to stardom as a former goaltender and now being apart of the front office.
During his time on the ice, the five-time NHL All-Star had two stints with the Panthers: The first from 2006-06 and the second from 2013-19, which marked the end of his career.
Between that timeframe, he helped lead the Vancouver Canucks to Game 7 of the 2010-11 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Boston Bruins.
His efforts garnered attention, and he won the Jennings Trophy that year.
The Panthers also recognized his greatness as the franchise retired his jersey number, 1, during a ceremony in March 2020.
He became the first player in the team’s history to receive this honor.
Since he retired from the league, Luongo has worked with the Panthers as a special adviser to General manager Bill Zito.
So when the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals, it was a full-circle moment.
He has been ecstatic since then and has let social media know how he feels.
He has shown why the Stanley Cup trophy is one of the greatest pieces of sports memorabilia, but he is certainly not the first to do so.
Taking a trip back to the 1940-41 season, the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup – but at that same time, the club paid off the mortgage on Madison Square Garden.
In celebration, the Rangers lit the mortgage on fire while it was in the Cup, which set it ablaze.
There was no calamity, though, as the players put the fire out with their urine.
On that topic, the former Toronto Maple Leafs stud, Red Kelly, put his son in the Cup for a quick bath – a common thing among winners – except the youngster had an accident in the bowl.
