Henrik Lundqvist, the longtime starting goalie of the New York Rangers, has announced his retirement from the game. A veteran of 15 NHL seasons, “The King” will go down as one of the best goaltenders in NHL history.
A 7th round, 205th selection in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Lundqvist was initially viewed as an afterthought. The #1 overall draft pick that year was the highly coveted Rick DiPietro. Things turned out quite differently, even though Lundqvist didn’t make his NHL debut until the 2005-06 season. Before that, he competed in the Swedish Hockey League.
And Lundqvist began his NHL career as a backup to starter Kevin Weekes. An early-season injury to Weekes thrust Lundqvist into action, and “The King” never looked back.
Lundqvist played in 887 games (8th most in league history), racked up 459 wins (6th most), and had a stellar 2.43 career GAA. Those are just some of Lundqvist’s accomplishments.
Here are a few others.
• The only goalie in NHL history to record 30 wins in each of his first seven seasons.
• Most games played in a single season by a Rangers goalie (73).
• Most shutouts (64) by a Rangers goalie.
• Most wins by a Rangers goalie.
• Fastest goalie to 400 wins in NHL history.
• Most playoff wins (61) by a Rangers goalie.
• Most wins by a European-born goalie in NHL history.
• Winter Olympics record for consecutive minutes without surrendering a goal: 172 minutes and 34 seconds (2006 to 2010).
Henrik Lundqvist will also go down in history as one of the greatest players to never win the Stanley Cup. One reason is that his championship pursuit was cut short by health concerns (heart issues). He tried returning to play last January after undergoing valve replacement surgery, but it was a no-go. Retirement was the prudent option.
Hail, The King! With career numbers set, accolades will now follow, including putting jersey #30 in the rafters at Madison Square Garden. A Hall of Fame induction is sure to follow.
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