Henrik Lundqvist Announces Retirement

In a press conference in his home country of Sweden, former New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist announced his retirement from the game of hockey.

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— Henrik Lundqvist (@hlundqvist35) August 20, 2021

Henrik Lundqvist Retires From The NHL

It is a shame Henrik Lundqvist could not go out on his own terms. But maybe it is best that he did not play for the Washington Capitals during the shortened 2020-21 season. It just would not have been right seeing Lundqvist play in another team’s uniform. It felt that Lundqvist’s heart was still with the Rangers. And his time in Washington might have hurt his career and not helped it. Though he was excited to play for the Capitals last season.

After being bought out by the Rangers, Lundqvist signed with Washington and during an examination prior to the start of the season, he disclosed he had a heart issue and had to undergo open-heart surgery in January of 2021. He, unfortunately, had to miss the entire season but had planned to play in the 2021-22 season. However, things just did not work out as planned and decided it was best to retire after missing a year of playing.

Lundqvist was originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the seventh round (205th overall) in the 2000 NHL Draft. He played his entire 15-year career with the Blueshirts and was given the nickname “King Henrik.” In 887 career games, Lundqvist has a record of 459-310-96 with a 2.43 goals-against average and .918 save percentage winning the Vezina Trophy just once in his career. Though he had several other Vezina Trophy nominations but fell short. In addition, Lundqvist was a five-time NHL All-Star.

In the postseason, he added another 61 wins and 10 shutouts. Lundqvist played in eight Game 7s, with a record of 6-2. In those games, he had 1.11 goals against average and a .961 save percentage. He never allowed more than two goals in any of those showdown matches. He and the Rangers went an astonishing 15-4 in elimination games from 2012 through 2015. But no Stanley Cup.

Lundqvist’s final action came during the 2019-20 season with the Rangers, where he posted a .905 save percentage and 3.16 goals-against in 30 appearances for New York. In the return to play bubble format, Lundqvist started both games for the Rangers against the Carolina Hurricanes. Lundqvist turned back the clock in Game 1 giving the Rangers every chance to win the game. In Game 2 of that series, Carolina was just the better team. Who knew at the time those would be the last games Lundqvist would ever play in the NHL.

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Lasting Legacy

Though he never won a Stanley Cup, Lundqvist is still one of the all-time greats to ever play the position. He guided so many Rangers teams that had subpar talent further than they should have gone in the playoffs. The Rangers from 2012-2015 made three straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances. They went to one Stanley Cup Final in 2014 losing to the Los Angeles Kings in five games. But Lundqvist was not the reason they lost that series. He was a reason they got there as he helped the Rangers come back from a 3-1 deficit against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 2.

While he was unfairly criticized by some fans, Lundqvist was the best goalie the Rangers had since Mike Ritcher. Lundqvist was made for Broadway and the bright lights of the big city did not bother him. He was the perfect player for the Rangers. He showed class on and off the ice. Lundqvist never wanted to leave New York even though there were opportunities for him to leave, he wanted to finish his career with the Rangers. The writing was on the wall for Lundqvist’s time being up when the Rangers had Alexander Georgiev and Igor Shesterkin playing more than Lundqvist.

On the International stage, Lundqvist won a gold medal with Sweden in 2006 in Turin and a silver in 2014 in Sochi. Then in 2017, Lundqvist captured IIHF World gold with Sweden. There is no doubt his number 30 will be retired by the Rangers organization down the road with his ultimate destination will be the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.