Henrik was not great in the Tampa series two years ago. He was not great against the Pens last year. He was great against the Canadiens this year but not great against the Senators. He's an aging goaltender still capable of being great for stretches but expecting him to sustain it over 4 playoff series required to win a Stanley Cup is expecting too much and if we're going ahead with that to the end of his contract term and every he's older and older we're expecting too much.
IMO the Rangers are going to need to platoon him more in the regular season--get him into the 50 game range and be willing to use a backup in the playoffs or we're going to be sitting ducks. He's not the best goalie in the league anymore.
Going ahead we need to get Shesterkin ASAP and if Tyler Wall has another season next year like he did this year I'd be signing him too. It's time to seriously think about the Rangers post-Lundqvist.
And how great was the team against Tampa? How great was the team against Pittsburgh? How great was the team against Ottawa? How great was the team against anyone not named the Atlanta Trashers in the last 10 years? Always clawing and scraping themselves to just be an inch better than their opponents, always relying on their goaltender to carry the passengers on the team, that are usually a bunch.
Now when Lundqvist doesn't stand on his head 4/5 series, the team is doomed. Because NYR isn't exactly LA Kings, who won with a goalie (Quick) who posted a .912 save percentage when they won the cup. Imagine if this team had any actual team carriers besides Hank. Some actual star player who usually delivers. Zuccarello is a semi star, McD too, but then? No one. Absolutely no one. How many cup winners have you heard of with one,
one legit franchise player? Almost none? That's right. Great odds the NYR try to go against here.
But sure, the problem was we didn't play Raanta according to some. Because that was the problem. Ridiculous. Henrik Lundqvist faced more high quality chances than any other goaltender after 2 rounds. Just like every year when NYR goes into the playoffs. Great team, eh?
As for letting Lundqvist go, I think Lundqvist is - and has been - stupid staying with this franchise if he really wants to win a cup. But he obviously cares more about living in New York. Maybe some NYR fans should appreciate that a little bit more. NYR drafted Lundqvist in the 7th round, so it's not like he had any reason to stay loyal. But he did. Apparently that is worth rotten tomatoes by some, because he didn't pretty much single handedly bring the team a cup during his career, because really, the teams NYR faced in the playoffs, a ton of them were better most of the time, but NYR still won, because Lundqvist stood on his head.
So now you want to deal him (yes, please?). Like that would help the NYR winning another cup. That won't happen for another 25 years anyhow. The entire NYR management culture is an entertainment business foremost, not a competitive hockey club. You are customers foremost, not fans. That's the usual backlash for big hockey franchises in big cities for long periods of time.