Capitals legend Henrik Lundqvist headlines 2023 Hockey Hall of Fame class
The Hockey Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday that former Capital Henrik Lundqvist will be inducted as part of the class of 2023. Lundqvist ranks sixth in all-time NHL wins (459) over his 15-year career.
Players Tom Barrasso, Caroline Ouellette, Pierre Turgeon, and Mike Vernon join Lundqvist in the 2023 class, while Ken Hitchcock and Pierre Lacroix will be inducted as builders.
Grateful and extremely honored to be selected to the Hockey Hall Of Fame.
Thinking of all the great players in the HHOF that inspired me as a kid. Feels amazing to be included in this special group.
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/rsyqQzDD8Y — Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist) June 21, 2023
Even without a Stanley Cup, Lundqvist’s career was legendary. He emerged as an icon in New York, backstopping the Rangers as they made the playoffs 12 out of 15 seasons. In his 2011-2012 campaign, a stellar 39-18-5 record earned Lundqvist the Vezina Trophy as well as third place in Hart Trophy voting.
Hank’s career began as something of a Cinderella story when the Rangers drafted him in the seventh round of the 2000 NHL draft, 205th overall. He wasn’t even the first goaltender selected by the Rangers–New York had already taken American Brandon Snee in the fifth round. He would then play five additional seasons in Sweden before finally making his NHL debut in 2005.
Once he reached the NHL, however, Lundqvist’s talent was undeniable. He originally came on as a backup to Kevin Weekes. After Weekes went down with an injury, however, Lundqvist rocketed to the starting role, a job he would hold onto for over a decade. He made an immediate impression: Lundqvist was named to the NHL All-Rookie team that year (alongside Alex Ovechkin) and earned his first of five Vezina nods.
From there, Lundqvist’s star continued to ascend. He joined the All-Star game five times and hit double-digit shutouts both in 2000-2008 (10) and in 2010-2011 (11). Two years after winning the Vezina, Lundqvist would come his closest to a cup in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Lundqvist earned Game Seven wins in both the first and second round before posting a shutout in Game Six against Montreal to take the Eastern Conference Final. Ultimately, Lundqvist would lose a goaltending duel against Jonathan Quick and the LA Kings.
Lundqvist earned plenty of hardware on the international stage. He played in the 2006 Turin Olympic Games just months after debuting in the NHL. Still clad in his Rangers mask and pads, Lundqvist defeated rival Finland to capture Olympic gold for Sweden. He would return to the Olympics for the 2014 Sochi Games. This time, Lundqvist was selected for the Olympic All-Star Team for his role in Sweden’s silver medal win.
Eleven years later, Lundqvist would earn gold at the 2017 IIHF World Championship. It was far from his first time at the tournament–he had already won a pair of silver medals in 2003 and 2004, earning a selection to the tournament’s all-star team the latter year.
Coming in his sixth appearance at the tournament, the 2017 win was made extra special when Hank won it alongside his twin brother Joel. Henrik was also memorably on the receiving end of a flying tackle from teammate William Nylander upon the win.
William Nylander was slightly excited. pic.twitter.com/HR10aOStMF — RMNB (@rmnb) May 21, 2017
Back in New York, the time would soon come for Lundqvist to pass the torch. The Rangers were at an impasse in goal by 2020: 24-year-old Igor Shesterkin was ready to take the starter’s net and 23-year-old Alexandar Georgiev had been a part-time starter for three seasons. Both were young and on cheap contracts, while Lundqvist was in the tail end of his career and making $8.5 million against the cap. The Rangers made the difficult decision to buy out Lundqvist’s contract in September of 2020.
Lundqvist made a bold choice of his own, signing a one-year deal with the Capitals within weeks of the buyout. It would have been his first time playing for another NHL team after over 800 games with New York.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. In December, Lundqvist learned that a worsening heart condition would keep him out of the Capitals lineup for the 2020-21 season. He would undergo open-heart surgery in early 2021 but remained intent on returning to the NHL. By August, however, Lundqvist announced that he would not be able to return and officially retired from professional hockey.
Despite the complicated end to his tenure, Lundqvist remains a Rangers icon. He holds the franchise record in regular season wins, postseason wins, and shutouts. On the same day that Lundqvist officially retired, the Rangers announced they would retire his no. 30, doing so in a touching ceremony the following January.
Lundqvist has remained active in hockey since hanging up his skates. He joined TNT’s broadcast and serves as an analyst on their NHL panel, most recently covering the Stanley Cup Final. More recently, he’s taken his talents to the big screen. He stars in Open Heart, a documentary chronicling his heart condition and eventual retirement. Fellow Capital and former Rangers teammate Carl Hagelin even joined Lundqvist at the film’s premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
This story is developing and will be updated
Source: Russian Machine Never Breaks