10 greatest New York Rangers in franchise history

Henrik Lundqvist is better known by hockey fans, especially New York Rangers fans, as “King Henrik”. He has earned that title by being arguably the best goaltender of the salary cap era (post-2005 lockout). Since Lundqvist joined the NHL at the start of the 2005-06 season, no goalie has more wins than his 431.

He is one of the two goaltenders in Rangers history to win the Vezina Trophy, doing so in 2011-12. General managers have no idea how to evaluate goalies. They’re as lost as the rest of us. The advanced numbers show Lundqvist should probably have more than one Vezina on his resume. Whether it’s goals saved above average or five-on-five save percentage, there are a variety of stats that show just how good Lundqvist is.

King Henrik is the Rangers all-time leader among goalies in games played (805), wins (431), save percentage among goalies with at least 100 appearances (.919), goals against average among goalies with at least 350 appearances (2.37), and shutouts (63).

While Lundqvist lacks a Stanley Cup (unlike Richter), that’s hardly his fault. For most of his career, the Rangers have relied on King Henrik to bail them out. And for the most part, that’s precisely what Lundqvist has done. For years, he was known as someone who consistently kept Alex Ovechkin from winning a Stanley Cup.

Lundqvist will retire as the best goaltender the New York Rangers have ever had. However, there’s not much he can do at this point to improve his legacy, short of winning a Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, the Rangers are rebuilding, so it appears Lundqvist’s legacy is set. It’s a pretty great one.