Friday night was a monumental night in the NHL, as the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars each honored a former player by adding a jersey to the rafters in their respective arenas.
In New York, former goaltender Henrik Lundqvist saw his number 30 jersey join the other ten retired Rangers numbers in Madison Square Garden. King Henrik, one of the most iconic players in team history, played 15 seasons in the Big Apple as a member of the Rangers.
In that time, Lundqvist was a five-time Vezina Trophy finalist, winning the award in 2012 as the league’s best goalie. In that season, he also finished third in MVP voting. In his storied career, he leads the Rangers in virtually all major goaltending categories in both the regular season and the postseason.
The only thing missing from the former seventh-round pick’s Hall of Fame career is a championship. Lundqvist led New York to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014, but his team fell short to the Los Angeles Kings.
To play a career that was as long and as dominant as Lundqvist’s is impressive, and to do it in one city is unique (he did sign with the Washington Capitals in 2020, but he did not play for the Caps). As a young hockey fan, no name is more synonymous with the New York Rangers than Henrik Lundqvist.
Lundqvist, Zubov have jerseys retired by Rangers, Stars.
Meanwhile, former Stars defenseman Sergei Zubov saw his number retired in Dallas on Friday. The All-Star defenseman played 1,068 games in his 16-year career, 839 of those as a member of the Stars from 1996-2009.
He was a part of the 1999 Dallas Stars Stanley Cup championship team, and he won two Cups in total during his playing days (the first coming in 1994 with the Rangers). Like Lundqvist, Zubov is statistically dominant at his position, leading his team, the Stars, in all major statistical categories as a defenseman.
Zubov’s number 56 is the sixth to be retired by the Stars/Minnesota North Stars franchise, and it now hangs with the others in the rafters at American Airlines Center in Dallas. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.
Two NHL legends enjoyed a memorable night on Friday, as their former teams honored them with jersey retirements. Now, the next time you go to a game in New York or Dallas, you’ll see a new addition to the lineup of greats displayed high above the ice.