I’m ready to set Henrik Lundqvist free
I want Henrik Lundqvist to win a Stanley Cup, even if it’s not with New York.
Sporadically throughout this summer and offseason when thinking about the New York Rangers, one thought in particular always dominated my brain, “Damn, I love Henrik Lundqvist”. Since I’ve been a New York Rangers fan, the one constant has been Henrik Lundqvist as my goaltender. The first season I ever started watching the Rangers was Hank’s debut season in 2005–2006 and I have taken this ride with him ever since. We’ve had highs, we’ve had lows, but he’s been there season after season giving everything he had for this team, the fans, and New York City.
I get sentimental now when talking about Henrik Lundqvist to the tone of Terrell Owens crying about Tony Romo, “That’s my goaltender, man.” Even last season when he didn’t reach the 30-win plateau for the FIRST TIME in his career, it sucked to see and I hated it. The Rangers have only missed the playoffs TWICE in Henrik Lundqvist’s tenure. We are absolutely spoiled because of that. It’s not fun watching Superman get old, kids, that’s why they don’t write about that in the comics. Nobody wants to see their heroes get old, and that’s how Rangers fans — well, the majority of them — feel about Henrik Lundqvist.
With the front office releasing the “We are Rebuilding” letter to the fans last year, it was basically the final realization and almost confirmation that Henrik Lundqvist will never win a cup as a member of the New York Rangers. If the team is trying to do this Rebuild the right way, that just simply means by the time this team should be ready to compete again, Henrik Lundqvist will be close to 40 years old. Now, it’s not impossible given Hank’s talent, but I’m being realistic about the amount of hockey he has played over his career and the wear and tear he put on his body, and yeah it probably won’t happen.
So what’s left for Hank in New York? Well, nothing actually. So why stick around? Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported last April that the Rangers offered Henrik Lundqvist a way out with a trade at the deadline if he wanted, and he said no.
“We told Hank that if he didn’t want to ride it out through this process, we’d find a good landing place for him,” [Garden executive chairman Jim] Dolan said during a conversation at his MSG office. “But he said that he wanted to stay and see it through.
John Tavares would never.
In all seriousness though, this is why fans love this guy. Through thick and thin, he wants to be a member of the New York Rangers and we love him for it.
Here’s my thing though, why? Why stay? Hank, if you’re reading this, which obviously you are, the majority of Rangers fans would NOT be angry with you. This isn’t the John Tavares situation. The front office basically all but said, “Hank this isn’t happening here buddy, you don’t have to do this anymore,” and he said no. Obviously the guy wants to win a Stanley Cup and he’s made it clear that if he does, he wants it to be in New York, but at some point you have to make the tough decision.
It feels like Rangers fans, and maybe even some in the front office, are people who broke into the zoo to free all the animals, and once they get to Henrik Lundqvist’s cage, he just sits there. Pleading and begging him to run free, but yet he just sits there waiting for the zoo keepers to regain order and lock the door to his cage once again. It feels like he’s a house cat who has been trained for YEARS to stay indoors and has no clue what to do when the door finally opens.
Could it be that he’s afraid of tarnishing his legacy? Let’s talk about that for a second.
As it stands right now, Henrik Lundqvist’s career will be looked at in a few ways. He will go down as one of the greatest players to never win a Stanley Cup, and that’s a fact. He will also go down as one of the greatest and most beloved athletes to play in New York City’s storied history. To play for one team for almost 15 years and never wear another team’s sweater…that’s rare, you just don’t get that anymore. The glaring part of his legacy will be the fact that he’s never won a Stanley Cup, and that stinks, but other than that, he is an absolute Hall of Fame candidate and nobody can change my mind. The rebuild does help him close out his career though. He basically gets to play free hockey with really no expectations to win a cup. So to close out his career, he basically has a built in excuse with the rebuild.
What if Henrik Lundqvist does take a trade to a team that is primed to make a run? But, what if in the end they fall short? Does Lundqvist want that to be part of his legacy? Can his conscience deal with it? Similarly, does Hank become the guy who couldn’t win anywhere? I wonder if that’s something he just wants to completely avoid altogether or if it’s not even a thought in his mind.
Lastly, does he want to be known as a “Ring Chaser” at the end of such a storied career? To be honest, I never have a problem with players doing this. You play the sport, sacrifice your body, and put in hours of practice to eventually win a championship. Let’s be honest too: it’s not like Hank would be going to a team to ride the pine and win a cup. No: he’d be between the pipes every single night and would have to earn his success in a playoff run as the starting goaltender. People unfortunately would still criticize him and call him a “Ring Chaser” if that were to happen. But does that even matter? The idea of “Ring Chasing” has become so normalized in today’s sports culture, mainly due to the NBA, so would it really be so bad if Hank did it at the end of his career? No, it wouldn’t.
Look, don’t get any of this twisted either, I’m not forcing, pushing, or hoping Henrik Lundqvist out the door. That’s not the case at all. I feel like a couple that’s about to break up. “It’s not you, it’s me. I just want you to be happy.” As probably my favorite athlete and member of the New York Rangers of all-time, yeah, I want Hank to be happy. Don’t get me wrong, it would SUCK to see him in another jersey initially, and it would definitely take some getting used to, but I would get over it. The Rangers fan side of me LOVES the fact that he wants to be with us until the end of his career, and the hockey fan side of me wants Hank to go and get his ring.
All I am trying to say is that I would understand if Hank did decide to leave. If Hank walked out at the deadline like Jon Snow leaving the Night’s Watch, “My watch has ended,” I’d be like, well yeah okay, that makes sense.
I just want him to be happy, and I don’t care how sappy that sounds, he’s my favorite player of all time, so sue me. This is basically my plead for Henrik Lundqvist to set himself free and my love letter to him all at the same time. Look, I don’t know what the future holds for Lundqvist nor will I predict what the deadline holds, all I know for a fact is that whenever Henrik Lundqvist plays his last game in a New York Rangers sweater, it will be the most emotional night of my life and I will cry for no less than three straight months. I’m ready to rip the band-aid off and get this over with sooner than later.
What are your thoughts? Would you blame Henrik Lundqvist for leaving the team to get a ring? Do you think he should ride out into the sunset with the Rangers? Let me know on Twitter @BryanWojtanik and listen to our weekly New York Rangers podcast below.
