On September 30th, the New York Rangers officially bought out long-time goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Having been drafted by the Rangers in the 7th round in 2000, Lundqvist never saw himself inferior to the 204 players drafted before him. Joining the Rangers full time in 2005, the organization would never seek another starting goalie in the 15 years he guarded their crease. New York Rangers Team President, John Davison called Lundqvist “One of the best players in the history of our franchise.”
New York bought out the final year of Lundqvist’s seven-year $59.9 million deal that began in 2014-15. With Hank gone, younger goaltenders Igor Shesterkin and Alexander Georgiev will have every opportunity to shine with their increased roles. Despite a buyout penalty of $1.5 million, the relief of the contract will free up about $3 million in cap space for the Rangers.
For Ranger fans this came as no surprise, talented netminder Igor Shesterkin had made his presence felt this year since his January call up. While Lundqvist started in just one out of the last 19 regular-season games, Igor dominated with 10 wins out of the 12 starts he had. Poetically, Lundqvist was pushed out by the younger goaltender, just as he had done in the 2005-2006 season to Kevin Weeks.
Lundqvist was more than just a goalie for the city of New York. For many, the thought of New York and Henrik Lundqvist was synonymous. The respect Lundqvist had in New York transcended his teammates and management, he was admired by other teams, the staff of MSG, and the community.
After years of commitment and charity, serving as a spokesperson since 2009 for the Madison Square Garden’s Garden of Dream Foundation, Lundqvist founded The Henrik Lundqvist Foundation in 2014.
The HLF empowered the voices of younger generations through work at New-York Presbyterian Children Hospitals, Ronald McDonald Children’s Fund, Together for Better in addition to the Garden of Dream Foundation. In March of this year, Hank donated $100,000 to a New York food bank, providing essential needs for 8,000 families. A staple in the community even during a pandemic, the HLF would run a virtual Kids jam where $15,000 was raised for local communities.
Hank’s work would be recognized by the NHL, where he would be regularly be nominated for the King Clancy Trophy as a player who best exemplifies on and off the ice leadership and who had made a significant humanitarian contribution.
As of now, “The King’s” time in the league is not finished, but he’ll forever be remembered as a Ranger. A Vezina Trophy winner in 2012-2013 as the NHL’s top goaltender, Lundqvist would break several New York Rangers’ records. He would surpass Mike Richter’s win record by 158 with a total of 459 wins, most wins ever by a European goaltender.
Despite carrying the Rangers through several playoffs, Lundqvist was never able to bring a championship back to New York. Coming off of a 40 save performance against Montreal in the third round, New York would head to the finals for the first time since their 1994 cup win. In 2014, Hank was near unstoppable facing the eventual winners, the Los Angeles Kings. Despite a commanding performance, with another 40 save performance, unbelievably forcing a game 5. The Rangers eventually fell to the greater team.
While it’s unclear where Lundqvist will end up, the goaltender still has game left in him. On Friday, October 9th, Free Agency opens up and for the first time in his 15-year career, Henrik Lundqvist will find himself as a free agent.
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