NHL Free Agency: 5 teams who should sign Henrik Lundqvist
Henrik Lundqvist is hitting NHL free agency for the first time in his career. Here are the five best fits for him.
For the first time in his future Hall of Fame career, Henrik Lundqvist is a free agent. He will be bought out shortly by the New York Rangers, potentially as soon as Wednesday, Sept. 30. Though this was expected, it’s still odd to see the winningest European goaltender in NHL history hit NHL free agency.
Lundqvist’s next game, should he continue to play, will be his first without a New York Rangers sweater adorning his chest. Though he’s no longer the elite goaltender he used to be, he still has gas in the tank and can still serve as a valuable backup goalie.
Because the Rangers are paying him a fair amount of money, Lundqvist will likely be willing to take a discount to continue playing. This means his list of suitors could be quite long. However, one has to think Lundqvist will reach out to teams he’s interested in instead of the other way around.
Of course, he might just decide to retire. His body has a lot of mileage on it, as he’s played the eighth-most regular season games (887) of any goaltender in NHL history. Additionally, Lundqvist’s 130 postseason games are the 10th most in NHL history. Combined, he’s played in over 1,000 games.
But should Lundqvist decide to continue playing and chase the Stanley Cup that has been just beyond his reach for his entire career, here are the five best fits for him.
5. Washington Capitals
Rangers fans would hate to see King Henrik wearing a Washington Capitals sweater. But it would make a ton of sense for Lundqvist to sign with them. They are reportedly looking to add a veteran goaltender to serve as Ilya Samsonov’s backup.
If the Capitals want Samsonov to pick someone’s brain, who better than Lundqvist, who carries himself like a quintessential professional both on and off the ice? Lundqvist could give the Capitals about 30 starts in an 82 game season and help Samsonov make the never easy transition from backup goalie to starting goalie.