The famous Zamboni gravy boat returns; Roberto Luongo almost a Red Wing?

Ah, yes, the famous Detroit Red Wings Zamboni gravy boat giveaway. This is becoming a popular tradition within the Red Wings fan base. Last year, around Thanksgiving, the organization gave this beautiful Red Wing-themed gravy boat, and a different version is returning by popular demand this year.

I know some of you cherish it if you are lucky enough to have one, and some of you received one last year and went straight to eBay to list it for sale and make a pretty penny doing so. Well, the first 7,500 fans on November 23rd will receive the 2024 model. It's a retro design that was determined by the fans via an online vote after having a fan design contest this past summer, which was also sponsored by Meijer.

According to WTOL, the gravy boat has a retro look with a few nods to the Red Wings' history on the back. "1926" honors the year the franchise got its start as the Detroit Cougars, and a Cougars-inspired stylized "D" was used in the 2009 Winter Classic uniforms.

Roberto Luongo was almost a Red Wing? It was closer than you think.

I came across this story and found myself quite intrigued. Recently, Roberto Luongo joined the Spittin Chiclets' podcast and greeted us with a bombshell.

Back in 2006, the Detroit Red Wings had a serious need in goal and apparently submitted an offer sheet to Luongo, a restricted free agent. At the time, Luongo turned down a contract extension with the Florida Panthers, prompting an eventual trade to the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver sent former (future) Detroit Red Wings fan-favorite forward Todd Bertuzzi, goaltender Alex Auld, and Bryan Allen to Florida in exchange for Luongo's rights. Luongo mentioned that shortly after the trade, and before he agreed to an extension with the Canucks, the Detroit Red Wings swooped in and submitted what he described as a lucrative, last-minute offer sheet which he chose to reject.

At the time, the Detroit Red Wings needed to persuade Dominik Hasek, who was 42 years old at the time, to return to the organization and continue splitting time with Chris Osgood. The Red Wings would eventually win a Stanley Cup with the tandem in goal during the 2007-08 season. That year, head coach Mike Babcock started the postseason with Hasek and quickly made the switch to Osgood, who went on an absolute tear, posting a 14-4 record backed by an outstanding 1.55 goals against average and 0.930 save percentage. The following year, Detroit returned to the finals but lost in seven games to the Penguins. It wasn't goaltending that let them down, though. Osgood once again performed at a high level, going 15-8 with a 2.01 goals against average and a 0.926 save percentage.

“I don’t think anybody knows this, but when I was traded to Van (Vancouver), I didn’t have a signed contract yet, and I actually got offer-sheeted by Detroit,” Luongo told Spittin’ Chiclets. “I didn’t accept it, though. It was a pretty quick 'no," said Luongo. I just got traded to Van. I wanted to be there – I didn't want to go to another team."

Just for clarification purposes, if the player signs the offer sheet, his current team has seven days to match the contract offer and keep the player. Otherwise, he goes to the team that gave the offer sheet, with compensation determined beforehand going to his first team. Sometimes, depending on the significance of the contract offer, the compensation could entail multiple first-round draft selections or a combination of a first, second, and third-round pick.

Roberto Luongo never won a Stanley Cup and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, class of 2022. He played 19 seasons, beginning with the New York Islanders (1 year), then the Florida Panthers (11 years total), Vancouver Canucks (8 years), and back to Florida. He finished his career with 489 victories with a career 0.919 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.52. He also amassed 77 career shutouts. Luongo also holds the top goalie point share of all-time with 217.8. This calculates the number of points a team earned due to the play of the goaltender.