As has been expected for the last few days, former Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist is moving to the Nation’s Capital.
According to several reports, the 15-year veteran will sign a one-year, $1.5M deal with the Washington Capitals after the team moved on from Stanley Cup champion, Braden Holtby. In 15 seasons with the New York Rangers, Lundqvist went 459-310-96 and helped lead the team to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1994 during the 2013-14 season. He is a two-time All-Star and the 2011-12 Vezina Trophy winner for the league’s best goalie.
done now: one year, $1.5 M for Henrik Lundqvist with the Capitals, as @TSNBobMcKenzie predicted earlier today
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 9, 2020
Of course, Lundqvist is not the goalie that won the Vezina Trophy six seasons ago. He started just 26 games a season ago and has watched his goals against average rise steadily since the 2014-15 season. However, when it comes to the team around him over the course of the last couple of seasons, it pales in comparison to what he has now.
The Capitals are just two years removed from hoisting the Stanley Cup with a small window remaining to try to snag one more. Last year, Holtby shared time with rookie Ilya Samsonov and the same scenario could play out with the aging Lundqvist. Samsonov missed the Capitals’ time in the bubble with an injury suffered prior to the return-to-play.
