Ask and ye shall receive. After weeks of speculation (and a groundroots campaign started right here on our Rink), the worst-kept secret in the NHL is out in the open: Henrik Lundqvist is now a Washington Capital:
And the official announcement from the team:
For the last 15 years, Henrik Lundqvist has been the backbone of the New York Rangers, appearing in 887 regular-season games (with a record of 459-310-96) and another 130 in the postseason (61-67) for the Blueshirts. Only Marc-Andre Fleury (462) has more wins than Lundqvist’s 459 since the Swede’s rookie season back in 2005-06, and no one tops his 64 shutouts over that span. He also led the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final three times and the Stanley Cup Final once (in 2014, when they lost to the LA Kings in five games).
Caps fans, of course, are familiar with Lundqvist’s work as a frequent antagonist over the years, particularly in the playoffs. The Caps have faced off against the Rangers five times since Lundqvist arrived in the NHL, and while the good guys took the first two series, New York took the next three (including erasing a 3-1 series deficit in 2015).
Lundqvist’s resume is peppered with many accolades and other shiny things throughout his career. He was named to the NHL All-Rookie team in 2006 (alongside his now-teammate Alex Ovechkin) and won gold with Team Sweden that same year at the Turin Olympics. Lundqvist was an NHL All-Star in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2018, and 2019, was a finalist for the Hart Trophy and the Lindsay Award and won the Vezina Trophy in 2012 (after being a finalist in each of the three years preceding his win).
One thing remains absent from that resume… hopefully the Caps can help fill in the gap.
Let’s sneak a peek at some highlights:
And of course, the best Lundqvist highlight of all time:
Welcome to DC, Henrik!