LUNDQVIST STUNNER
Ranger legend says heart condition will keep him out season
Henrik Lundqvist shocked the hockey world on Thursday when he announced he had been diagnosed with a heart condition.
The former Rangers goalie — and the face of the franchise for more than a decade — announced on social media that the undisclosed issue with his heart will prevent him from playing this season for the Washington Capitals.
Lundqvist, 38, signed with the Capitals on Oct. 9 after 15 seasons with the Blueshirts.
“It breaks my heart (literally) to share this news,” Lundqvist wrote on social media.
“I will not be joining the Capitals this upcoming season. After many weeks of tests and conversations with specialists around the country, it’s been determined that a heart condition will prevent me from taking the ice.
“Together we have decided that the risk of playing before remedying my condition is too high. So I will spend the coming months figuring out the best course of action.”
“For the past 2 months I’ve been so inspired by the opportunity to play in DC and committed to my game, spending every day at the rink to prepare for the upcoming season. The news was very difficult to process but after the last test result earlier this week we knew there was only one way to go from here.”
Lundqvist, the winningest netminder in Rangers history (459), said that he would be taking a few weeks to spend time with his family and then he would be sharing “next steps.”
“We have no doubt that Henrik Lundqvist will face this challenge with the same fierce determination and grace that made him one of the greatest goaltenders to every play the game of hockey, and an inspiration to all of us,” the Rangers said in a statement. “He and his family are in our thoughts during this difficult time. He will always be a part of the New York Rangers Family.”
The Swedish star parted ways with the only NHL franchise he had known back in September when the Rangers opted to buy out the final year of his seven-year contract.
“Representing this organization has been the biggest source of pride and joy in my life,” Lundqvist, known as King Henrik around the Garden, wrote on the day his divorce from the Rangers became official. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity, for the friendships and for all the great memories created wearing the red, white and blue.
“I will always cherish my time as a Ranger.”
But the 2011-2012 Vezina trophy winner as the NHL’s top goalie wasn’t ready to give up on his dreams of hoisting the Stanley Cup. He fell short of hockey’s top prize with the Blueshirts as the Rangers lost to the L.A. Kings in five games in the 2014 NHL Final. It was the franchise’s lone appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals since the 1994 squad ended the franchise’s 54-year championship drought.
He signed on with the Capitals weeks later on a one-year, $1.5 million contract.
“The Washington Capitals are supportive of Henrik’s decision to step away from hockey at this time due to his heart condition. Our players’ health is of the utmost importance, and we stand behind Henrik’s decision,” the club said in a statement. “We want to wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”
Capitals owner Ted Leonsis called the news “heartbreaking and emotional.”
“I am only concerned and thinking about Henrik Lundqvist as a person and for his family’s wellbeing,” Leonsis wrote on Twitter. “We pray for his good health.”
He had been expected to split time in Washington with Ilya Samsaonov, 23, this season.
Lundqvist, who has a 459310-96 career record with a 2.43 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage, ranks sixth on the NHL’s all-time wins list.