The King Of New York

By Michael Rifkin

On Friday, Henrik Lundqvist announced his retirement from hockey at the age of 39. The New York Rangers selected Lundqvist in the seventh round of the 2000 NHL draft (205th overall). Before the 2020 season, the Rangers, the only franchise Lundqvist had played for, bought out his contract, and he signed a one-year contract with the Washington Capitals, and didn’t play for them due to heart issues and underwent open-heart surgery.

Lundqvist retires with 459 sixth all-time wins, 2.43 Goals Against Average, and .918 Save Percentage, and 64 shutouts. Lundqvist had 61 wins in the playoffs with a 2.30 Goals Against Average, a .921 save percentage, and ten shutouts. Lundqvist was at his best in win or go home game 7s. In his eight-game 7s, Lundqvist went 6-2 with a 1.11 Goals Against Average, and a .961 save percentage. The craziest part of these numbers is that Lundqvist never allowed more than two goals in game 7s. The Rangers went to three conference finals with Lundqvist and one Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Los Angeles Kings in 5 games. In what might have been the best stretch of Henrik’s career, the Rangers trailed the Pittsburgh Penguins 3 games to 1 in the 2014 Eastern Conference Semifinals. In games 5-7, Lundqvist stopped 102 of 105 shots en route to a comeback for the ages. Over those three games, the team was outshot 105-84. In 2011-12 Lundqvist went 39-18-5 with a 1.97 Goals Against Average, a .930 save percentage, and eight shutouts, which led him to win the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie and for ten consecutive seasons finished in the top 6 in voting.

Henrik embraced the fans as much as they embraced him. When he makes a big save, you can hear Madison Square Garden faithful chant his name. One day Henrik will go into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Rangers organization announced quickly on Friday that during this upcoming season, they will retire the number 30 in honor of Lundqvist, the franchise’s all-time leader in wins, in a ceremony that no doubt will be fit for a KING.