Tribute Henrik Lundqvist Appreciation Thread

[EdJovanovski]

Somewhere down the line, Hank will become the General Manager and lead the Rangers to a Stanley Cup.

We're winning it under Gorton, Hank will be part of the coaching staff

 

[Nickmo82]

Not much to say that hasn't been said. Hope he'll be back before too long in some capacity or other.

If only they'd been able to ice a decent team in front of him...

I wish him all the best in everything he does, post-Rangers life.

 

[AB13]

He is one of the main reasons I became a Rangers fan and one of the main reasons I love hockey. I am sure plenty of people can say the same.

 

[CasusBelli]

There are no words.

 

[bobbop]

I too happened to be at that game in some of the best seats I've ever sat in...just behind the glass on the visitor end. Not a great game, but was nice to see Hank appear in relief. Did think that it could be one of the last times I might see him in person. I'm pretty sure I caught Covid that night and was knocked on my ass for a month beginning the following Wednesday. But I'm still happy I will be able to say I was there at the end.

Wow, that's scary to hear. Hope you well now. My wife, daughter and Henrik went to the game, two Broadway shows (Harry Potter) road the subway and went to the Museum of Modern History and escaped unscathed.

Fixed. Sorry @broadwayblue

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

I love Henrik Lundqvist. I want you all to love him too.

 

[SavedByLundqvist]

Haven't posted here in years, but this seemed to be a good time to come back and fete my namesake.

Long live the King!

 

[broadwayblue]

Wow, that's scary to hear. Hope you well now. My wife, daughter and Henrik went to the game, two Broadway shows (Harry Potter) road the subway and went to the Museum of Modern History and escaped unscathed.

Not sure if you were replying to me but copied the wrong quote, but yes, fortunately I am better now. It was a group of four of us and everyone was a bit uneasy about taking public transportation so we took Uber there and a cab back. Hard to say for sure where I caught it, but I suspect it was that night. Covid is no joke, even for those that don't need to be hospitalized. Anyway, I don't want to derail the Hank tribute...but thanks for asking.

 

[nyrleetch]

 

[Kaapodonna]

Im definitely not crying!!!

 

[East Coast Bias]

Amazing. A full seasons worth of games against playoff teams, putting out those stats is just unreal.

 

[nyrleetch]

Amazing. A full seasons worth of games against playoff teams, putting out those stats is just unreal.

It's the reason why I can't hold him not winning a cup against him. He was our best player most nights in must wins. I can't remember a high scoring must win game.

 

[NYR94]

Incredible. I can't find the tweet right now, but I recall seeing some ridiculous stat that said that over the course of Lundqvist's career, only three teams have a lower goals/game in the playoffs than the Rangers do. If only he got a little bit more support. But he was so money in game sevens.

 

[Baby Punisher]

Hard to put it into words. Probably the last pro athlete I'll ever revere.

I know exactly how you feel. I went through this with Messier, Richter, and Piazza. I don't feel the same way for Lundqvist as I did for those guys, but I remember the pain and emotion when each one of those guys left the team, and the game they played.

Lundqvist was a great Ranger. It was a great era of New York Rangers Hockey that lacks only one thing.

 

[Baby Punisher]

The thing I liked most about Henrik was he "got" NY...and he loved it...and he became one of us.

He embraced the city, the culture, and lifestyle like no other. His comfortability with NYC and the fans was a huge key to his success.

 

[mrhockey193195]

It's the reason why I can't hold him not winning a cup against him. He was our best player most nights in must wins. I can't remember a high scoring must win game.

The ONLY one that comes to mind is game 6 vs. Tampa. There are probably three or four dozen where we couldn't score more than 2 goals.

 

[Machinehead]

 

[Rempe73]

Most consistent goalie of all time, while being one of the best. Sad day

 

[Ginger Papa]

Still remember watching him for the first time in a preseason game back in 2005. After one period I had feeling he would be a star, I never saw someone with such a wide stance.

Hi folks, Canucks fan coming to say that I really respect your outpouring of love and admiration for one of the best players in his era.

Although I’m not a Rangers fan, as a goaltender myself I appreciated Hank’s distinctive style.

So many NHL Goaltenders look almost the same aside from the Jersey they wear. To successfully play his technique was a testament to his exceptional natural abilities.

Thank you for sharing your memories and feelings. To me this is one of the best things about HF, devoted fans discussing our hockey heroes.

Who else could be called a “King” and it not be mocked, but rather embraced? He wore the crown well.

Cheers

 

[Allan92]

His save against CBJ in the 15/16 regular season is still one of the biggest "HOLY SHIT" plays I've seen in hockey

Man, I'm on a downer today

 

[PuckPuckPuck]

Henrik, thank you for all of the blood, sweat and tears through all the years. Thank you for all of the memories. Long live the KING!!!

 

[Charlie Conway]

I'll get a bit sappy here. I had posted this on the main thread.

I was always a kind of casual hockey fan growing up. NYR hockey was a staple in my house.

I really got into hockey much later, when I was around 17 or 18. Lundqvist was the Rangers guy, no matter who was skating up front or on D.

Lundqvist was the star, and the team lived and died by his performances. Whoever wore the C was essentially irrelevant--he was the heart and soul of the team. Absolutely competitive, to the point of frustration on his part. Those are the players every team wants. They love to win and they absolutely loathe losing.

No matter who came and went on those teams, Henrik made the team a contender, and, as sure as water was wet, Lundqvist was the Rangers' starter. He dragged teams deep into the playoffs that had no real business being there, including a cup final series with a team that had no forward scoring more than 60 points that year.

Committing to a rebuild isn't easy for any player to accept, never mind a fierce competitor like Lundqvist who came so close to a cup and fell short. Maybe he saw himself as a starter that would lead the team into a new era of contention. Maybe he wanted to mentor the young Russian who looked up to him. Maybe he now can't let go of that fire and wants another crack at it. Maybe it's time to head back to pay for Frolunda and finish things where they began. Who knows.

Whatever ended up happening, this is a tough conclusion to a generational goaltender's career. For Rangers fans, it was an incredible career that, regardless of no cups, will always be treasured and honored as one of the best ever in a Rangers jersey.

It was a privilege to get to watch Lundqvist play in a Rangers sweater for 15 years.

 

[Calad]

I need a Lundqvist header save compilation/montage

 

[East Coast Bias]

One of the amazing things about Hank's career is how great he was, consistently for a decade plus.

A lot of goalies have had great 3 year runs where they get nominated as the goalie in the league. "The best right now"

For 12 years or so, it was

Hank's the best
or Thomas
or Rinne
or Miller
or Rask
or Bob
or Price
or Holtby

etc etc etc

It's amazing how long he lasted and against how many guys people argued about best goalie in the league.

 

[Machinehead]

Remember when Goldberg scores at the end of the third Ducks movie and he says "Charlie, don't ever do that to me again"?

That's pretty much where I'm at with Hank. Iconic, heart-warming, legendary, great, triumphant, everyone stood up and cheered. All those feelings.

But never do that to me again. Building around a goalie not only doesn't win, but it's frustrating to watch, and I know every Rangers fan feels that frustration of this guy trying his damndest to drag around teams that weren't good enough. The frustration that even in 2014 when we were pretty good, the better team still won despite the gap in net.

And that's not Hank's fault! The fact is, every goalie has inconsistencies game-to-game, even the great ones (I remember the Roy/Brodeur softy being a running joke in the 90's), and they're just not going to win by themselves.

I think we need to be careful about not being blinded again the way Hank blinded the FO to how terrible the defense was and we need to be careful about the dollars we're willing to commit to Shesty. Having our system and a guy like Lafreniere puts us right away in a better position than we were when Hank was a lad.