Future Hall of Fame goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made the painful decision earlier today to officially hand up the pads this afternoon after 15 season in the National Hockey League.
He was unable to participate in the 2020-21 season with the Washington Capitals, with whom he signed during the offseason after not being retained by the Rangers, after being required to undergo open heart surgery.
“When [this] summer started, my plan was still to come back,” said Lundqvist. “I started working out again and was skating, but without any contact. But there were some setbacks. Too much exertion caused some chest pain.
"I was hoping I would be 100% by this time," Lundqvist told the Post. "But I was told that inflammation takes a long time to correct and with medication I might be out of the woods, but it could be another full year before I would be 100%. ... I came to the conclusion that there are too many unknowns and too much risk for not enough reward for me to keep playing."
“So I thought about this, talked with my closest friends, my family and my wife, Therese. This year was probably harder for her than for me. She is such a strong woman. It came down to how badly I wanted to push it, how much of a gamble did I want to take? And I came to the conclusion that there are too many unknowns and too much risk for not enough reward for me to keep playing.
Lundqvist also explained that he'll be needing another heart procedure.
"We will see how extensive it will be," he said. "Treatments are getting better, so we will see if they'll open up the chest or not. But that will be problem for the future."
Despite the disappointing finish to his career, the legendary goaltender is at peace with how things turned out.
“I’m OK with this. I am. I feel like I’m at a very strong place mentally after going through all of the challenges of the last year, starting with when the Rangers bought me out,” said No. 30. “For the last eight months or so, there has been so much waiting-and-seeing, and I have not been in the driver’s seat. I’ve been in the passenger’s seat. Now there was a decision to make.
“It’s all still fresh. I decided only a few days ago. But I am at peace. I look back at my career, and all I have is gratitude and pride. I am just so grateful.”
