Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Apologies to everyone who thought their
team had a chance to sign Henrik Lundqvist away from the New York Rangers this
summer.
In a move that shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been watching Lundqvist man the
crease for the Blueshirts over the past several seasons, the Rangers locked up
their star goaltender months before he could ever hit the open market.
Lundqvist ended speculation about his desire to stay in New York on Wednesday,
agreeing to a seven-year deal worth a reported $59.5 million.
It’s a contract that should make the 31-year-old Swede a Ranger for life, a
scary proposition for the rest of the Metropolitan Division.
Lundqvist, a five-time Vezina Trophy finalist and one-time winner, boasts a
lifetime record of 137-72-20 and a 2.32 goals against average against his
current divisional foes. All told, he is 284-182-57 with a 2.26 GAA and .920
save percentage during his career and has been the starter in 524 of his 531
games at the NHL level.
No offense to current Rangers backup goaltender Cam Talbot, but it’s pretty
clear Lundqvist is the past, present and future when it comes to New York’s
goaltending situation. Wednesday’s contract news only strengthened the reign
of “King Henrik.”
Despite being a seventh-round pick by New York in 2000, Lundqvist has become
the face of the franchise by being the model of consistency during his eight-
plus seasons in the Big Apple. Not counting the lockout-shortened campaign of
2012-13, he’s started in 50 or more games every season and recorded at least
30 wins in each of those years.
“Since his arrival in New York in 2005, Henrik has consistently been one of
the elite goaltenders in the NHL,” Rangers general manager Glen Sather said in
a statement announcing the long-term extension. “He is a proud representative
of the tradition and class of this organization and we are excited to have him
remain as a cornerstone of the franchise.”
While there is little doubt Lundqvist earned his hefty payday by being a rock
for the Rangers for close to a decade, there still is something noticeably
absent from his career resume. That, of course, is the all-important (and
often times elusive) Stanley Cup title.
In essence, all Lundqvist needs to do to justify his lucrative extension is
win one title over the lifetime of the new contract. Of course, winning a Cup
this upcoming spring in the final days of his current deal would satisfy that
obligation just as well.
If Hank can lead the Rangers to a championship or two over the next several
seasons, then nobody in New York will care when the team is paying a 39-year-
old goaltender $8.5 million a year. If Lundqvist is still without a title when
the 2020-21 season rolls around, then giving him the largest payday ever for
an NHL goaltender will probably seem like a mistake in retrospect. Either way,
with bona fide star goalies hard to come by, it’s a gamble the Rangers were
wise to make.
The problem is Lundqvist needs help to get New York to the top of the hockey
mountain, and he hasn’t always received it in the postseason. Lundqvist has
turned in an excellent 2.28 GAA and .920 save percentage over 67 career
playoff games, but has only a 30-37 record to show for it.
He’s also recorded five of his eight career postseason shutouts over the last
two playoffs, but New York only managed to make it to the Eastern Conference
finals in 2012 before bowing out in the second round last spring.
Lundqvist almost single-handedly willed the Rangers to an opening-round win
over Washington last season, posting consecutive shutouts in Games 6 and 7 to
shut the door against the Capitals. However, New York only managed to score 10
times in the next round against Boston, losing the conference semifinal series
in five games.
There is little doubt Lundqvist has the ability to hold up his end of the
bargain during a championship run. He showed that back at the 2006 Winter
Olympics, when he anchored Team Sweden to a Gold Medal in Turin, Italy. If New
York’s relatively young core can manage to grow up around Lundqvist, perhaps
similar results could be achieved in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
When it comes to thinking about the future contracts of other Rangers there is
some concern about the annual $8.5 million cap hit that comes with Lundqvist’s
extension, but the deal shouldn’t prevent New York from successfully building
around its franchise goaltender. The pay increase amounts to roughly $1.625
million more a year in the salary cap department than Lundqvist’s current
deal, a modest raise to cover for a team that was already paying a premium for
its goaltending.
After all, the salary cap ceiling is projected to raise along with NHL
revenues, leaving big-market franchise like the Rangers to spend as freely as
they normally do.
Sather and the Rangers front office did the only thing that made sense when
they backed up the money truck and dumped it on Lundqvist’s doorstep. Then
again, if the other option is to let one of the best goaltenders of his
generation walk away from the only NHL team he’s ever known, there really
isn’t much to think about.