There's lots to talk about with this current Rangers teams as we are in the middle of their ninth back to back of the season. They played last night in Columbus and despite leading 2-0 early, fell short by a score of 5-3. Tonight, they will take on one of the best in the west, the Minnesota Wild. However, none of this seems as relevant or important as today, it is all about one Ranger, the King of New York, future Hall of Fame Goaltender, number 30, Henrik Lundqvist.
What can be said about Hank that hasn't already been said? He's the goalie with the most wins in Rangers history, most shutouts, most playoff wins, most saves in a shootout, six consecutive game seven wins, most shutouts by any goalie at Madison Square Garden, fastest goalie to win 400 games in league history, only goalie to record 30 wins in each of his first seven seasons, most wins by a European born goalie and let's not forget his gold medal with Team Sweden in 2006. I'm sure there's probably more stats and records I'm neglecting to mention but tonight, all those facts and figures, along with who Henrik is as a person, gets encapsulated into a large banner with his name and number on it that will join the likes of other Rangers greats, hanging from the world's most famous ceiling in the world's most famous arena.
For my generation of hockey players and fans that grew up in the late 90s/early 00s', the post lockout era was not only a significant shift in the game, but about the time when hockey itself was becoming an obsession for us. As young kids, we watched some of hockey's greatest wrap up their careers and after one long year without hockey, we watched its next generation of greats begin theirs. In 2005-06 Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan Getzlaf, Duncan Keith, Pekka Rinne and many others made their NHL debuts. Out of the names I just listed, all but the goalies are still active in the league. However, Henrik Lundqvist will be the first to have his number retired. Tonight will undoubtedly be a special night for Rangers fans however, hockey fans as a whole will feel the sense of appreciation as this will be the first generational talent of the post lockout era to be honored with a retirement ceremony. Truly marking, the end of an era.
Rangers fans have truly been blessed in regards to goaltenders over the years. In the grand scheme of things, you can look back and think "wow, they really went from Mike Richter to Henrik Lundqvist and now Igor Shesterkin." If you want to go back even further, you can say it started with Eddie Giacomin. However when you break it down, there were certainly some bumps in the road and the transition from Richter to Lundqvist was anything but smooth. In the winter of 2002, Mike Richter having already battled back from one head injury, received a concussion that would put an end to his playing career. Having led the Blueshirts to their Stanley Cup in 1994 and manning the crease ever since, the Rangers were suddenly left without their guy in net.
Dan Blackburn, a personal favorite of six year old me, was expected to be the Henrik Lundqvist before Henrik Lundqvist. A tenth overall draft pick in 2001 was suddenly being asked to make the jump to the NHL and take over for the at the time, most cherished goaltender by one of the leagues most passionate fan bases. A lot of pressure for a nineteen year old. To help relieve that pressure, the Rangers traded Rem Murray, Tomas Kloucek and the rights to Marek Zidlicky to the Nashville Predators, in exchange for their starting goaltender, Mike Dunham. With all due respect to Mike Dunham, let's just say he did not turn out all that well for New York.
The 2003-04 is one of the first seasons from my childhood I vividly remember following most. Despite some of the legendary names on that roster, boy were the Rangers not good. Dan Blackburn wouldn’t pan out the way we hoped as injuries forced his NHL career to be short lived and names like Jussi Markkanen, Jamie McLennan, Jason Labarbera, future analyst all-stars Steve Valiquette and Kevin Weekes would all split time attempting to fill Richter’s skates. Then finally, came a kid from Sweden by the name of Henrik Lundqvist. Drafted 205th overall by the Rangers in the year 2000, he wasn’t necessarily a flashy prized prospect, at least not yet. After spending the front half of the 2000s’ playing in Sweden, attention quickly landed on the future King and in the first season following the lockout, Lundqvist took the crease for the Rangers. Winning 30 games in his first season with the team, he would quickly show that it was his crease and going to be his crease for a long time.
And for 15 years it was. For all those years, he was our goalie, our heart and soul, our face of the franchise, our King. There aren’t enough words to describe what he has meant to Rangers fans and the Rangers organization. He gave the New York Rangers a chance to win every single night that he led them onto the ice. For about a decade, the Rangers were constant in the playoff picture and they have Henrik to thank for that. Many of those years the Blueshirts had no business being in playoffs and the years they did, had no business making it as far as they did. However, Lundqvist carried them, standing on his head, flashing every limb of his body, doing whatever it took to keep that puck out of the net. Nobody competed as hard as he did, no one held themself to a higher standard than he did and nobody loved the game the way he did.
Unfortunately, it’s very rare to have a picture perfect story and for Lundqvist, the end of his playing career is far from a happy ending. Things didn’t go down the way they should’ve and an unforeseen health issue informed him it was time to hang up the skates. However tonight, none of that matters. We’re not going to talk about what could’ve been or what should’ve been, the only thing we’re going to talk about are the good times, the memories and the outstanding career this man had. On the ice, he was a generational talent with a hall of fame career. Off the ice, he was the perfect representative for one of the classiest organizations in all of sports. His work with the Garden of Dreams Foundation and the countless lives of Rangers fans that he touched over the years will never go unappreciated. He gave this city everything he could for 15 years and tonight, is all about thanking and honoring him for what he gave us throughout his career.
From a personal note, I want to thank Henrik Lundqvist for so many memories over the years and for everything he did for the New York Rangers organization. It’s hard to think about what the Rangers mean to me without thinking of Henrik’s contributions to the franchise. I started playing goalie around the time that Henrik started with the Rangers and as I look back on it, he was a huge part in that. Countless hours of my life, whether it was on the ice, flopping around like a fool in my backyard, on carpet in someone’s basement or a hotel hall during youth hockey tournaments, any time I strapped on the pads or got in front of a net, I was pretending to be Henrik Lundqvist.
From getting your hockey cards, to getting framed pictures and other memorabilia for Christmas. To the Lundqvist hoodie I’m wearing right now as I sit on the train back home to New Haven to watch tonight’s festivities in my living room with my parents where I’ve watched so many memorable games for 20+ years, thank you for it all. For every game, every moment, every win, every loss, you made it so easy to be a Rangers fan through thick and thin. They always say once a Ranger, always a Ranger but in this case, it’ll be much bigger than that. Your name and number will rise to the rafters and for the rest of time, you will be one of, if not the greatest Ranger to every pull on that jersey. Henrik, I’m sure I speak for all Rangers fans when I say this, from the bottom of my blue bleeding heart, THANK YOU.
Chris Feldman
Comments