Washington Capitals thrown a late curveball with Henrik Lundqvist to miss 2020-21

Washington Capitals goalie Henrik Lundqvist will miss the entire 2020-21 season.

In what is a crushing late blow for the Washington Capitals and the player himself, Henrik Lundqvist released a statement today declaring that he will miss the upcoming NHL season due to a heart condition.

In the statement released on his Twitter page, Lundqvist revealed that he has undergone a plethora of tests in recent weeks, in addition to holding conversations with a variety of specialists in order to get to the root of the problem.

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However, the decision was taken that playing without a solution to the problem would be too high a risk and, as a result, “The King” will not play at all during the 2020-21 NHL season.

Lundqvist also stated that he will spend the next few weeks with his family before coming to a decision on his next steps.

It isn’t good news and we at Puck Prose, along with the rest of the hockey world obviously wish Henrik Lundqvist the very best of luck and hope that his heart condition isn’t serious and that a remedy can be found soon.

Obviously, it goes without saying that Lundqvist’s health comes above all else and the 38-year-old is right not to take the ice until a solution is found.

It is terrible news for Lundqvist himself who was hoping for one more shot at winning a Stanley Cup after signing a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Capitals back in Free Agency following his Buyout by the New York Rangers.

It is also a hammer blow for the Washington Capitals who were hoping to ride a goalie tandem of Lundqvist and Ilya Samsonov in 2020-21, although they will now have to devise a Plan B and quickly given that the new NHL season is slated to start on Jan. 13, 2021.

What’s Next

We are not going to speculate on the future of Henrik Lundqvist too much because it is pointless to do so until he undergoes further tests and makes a further announcement, although it goes without saying that we hope this isn’t the end for the future Hall of Famer.

I’m biased being a New York Rangers fan but Lundqvist was truly one of the best to put on the pads, and he deserves a much better ending.

We will, however, delve into what the short-term future looks like for the Washington Capitals in 2020-21, and perhaps beyond.

After opting to let franchise goalie Braden Holtby walk in Free Agency, with the Stanley Cup winner proceeding to sign a two-year, $8,600,000 contract with the Vancouver Canucks, the Capitals targeted a mentor for future franchise goalie Ilya Samsonov.

After all, Samsonov has been surrounded by a lot of hype for quite some time now and, after carving out a 16-6-2 record in 2019-20 with a 2.55 Goals Against Average and a .913 Save Percentage, the hype appeared to be justified.

And the perfect mentor and role model for Samsonov fell into the laps of the Capitals in Lundqvist, who had just been bought out by the New York Rangers following the star-studded emergence of Russian phenom goalie Igor Shesterkin.

Boasting a championship-caliber core still in their win-now window, signing for the Washington Capitals was an attractive proposition for Lundqvist and it was a move that also ticked a lot of boxes for the Caps who not only had someone who could take Samsonov under their wing, but an elite 1B option who could step into the breach at any given moment.

However, the Capitals will now need to plan for life without Lundqvist for at least the 2020-21 season, and they do have Pheonix Copley in the minors who played in 27 games for Washington in 2018-19 and could step up as Samsonov’s backup.

Alternatively, there are options still available in Free Agency that could be of interest to the Washington Capitals.

Although they currently are over the $81.5 million flat cap for the 2020-21 season, Lundqvist going on LTIR could save them some cash while they can go over the cap by 10 percent during the offseason, which would buy them some extra time to make another move or two.

In saying that, though, there are cheap options to be had in Free Agency including Jimmy Howard, Craig Anderson and even Ryan Miller.

While all three are in the back nines of their careers and are past the peak of their powers, all three are grizzled NHL veterans and all three would be an experienced figure for Samsonov to lean on in what will be his first season as an undisputed No. 1 starter in the NHL.

Granted, Howard, Anderson and Miller don’t possess the upside that Henrik Lundqvist did but they are proven veterans who could still do a solid job as a backup, especially in what will be a shortened 56-game season in 2020-21.

Anderson is probably the pick of the bunch and his .902 Save Percentage and 3.25 Goals Against Average did come on a rebuilding Ottawa Senators team in 2019-20, while the 39-year-old would probably be willing to take a team-friendly deal in exchange for playing for a legitimate contender.

Overall, there are options out there for the Washington Capitals and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the front office dip their toe in Free Agency once again in order to try and soften the unexpected and sudden loss of Henrik Lundqvist.

And, as for Lundqvist, this is a terrible day for all hockey fans and we all wish The King the very best of luck in his treatment and recovery, and hope to see him back where he belongs as soon as he’s healthy to do so.