” You told him?” I asked Lundqvist after the match.
He was as difficult on his colleagues as he was on himself and perhaps not every gamer valued that all the time. He was as tough on his colleagues, come to think about it, as John Tortorella was on him.
Hes not Derek Jeter. Hes not Eli Manning. If you want to talk about this specific Core Four, Lundqvist was something else that not one of them was and he brought a concern shared by none of the above.
It isnt the numbers and it isnt the number 30 that will be raised to the pinwheel ceiling of the Garden when the time ends up being best.
The Rangers were 15-4 in playoff elimination games from 2012-15. That nearly appears like a typographical error. It isnt. Lundqvist allowed one objective or no goals in 11 of those 19 video games. The Rangers came from 3-1 down against the Penguins in 2014 and 3-1 down versus the Capitals in 2015 and Lundqvist enabled an amount of eight objectives in those 6 prospective elimination video games.
There was that stretch of seasons when Tortorella gloried in the number of high shots directed at Lundqvist throughout practice. And so, after the 2nd or third time he had actually been struck by a high one, I encouraged Lundqvist to just leave the net next time, the way Billy Smith typically did when he was with the Islanders.
That is what makes this so heart-wrenching.
That is what Lundqvist, the Swede who made himself in your home on Broadway, leaves. That is who Lundqvist is.
And Rangerstown was no longer a nation for old males.
He was the face of the franchise for the last 14 years of his 15-year profession here, the particular name above the title on the marquee and basically required to be the very best player on the ice almost any and every night in order for his group to win. Thats what he was.
Tortorella treated Lundqvist with tough love. A lot of it was even required, but probably not the lecture after a poor outing that coincidentally came on a day the Kings picture with Justin Bieber taken at the Knicks game the previous night showed up on Page Six.
Who, me?
Eventually, it took a toll. The quantity of work he required to do on a consistent basis, and certainly over the last five years while typically running behind a protective structure that seemed to traffic in chaos, used him down. Did the Cup receding into the background of the rearview mirror. The video game became quicker, Lundqvist ended up being slower. Or, perhaps more precisely, the King became 35, then 36, then 37, and now 38.
The next night, in the midst of addressing a concern in a pregame press rundown, the coach matter of factly let it drop that, “One of our writers even told Hank to stop playing … didnt believe I understood that, did you?”
” I know we are all facing some challenges as a city so lets do what New Yorkers do best, come together and return to where we desire to be!” Lundqvist, not quite adhering to sports, stated as part of a five-part farewell tweet published to his account Wednesday. “Be kind, be respectful and helpful of others.”
It is the aura, it is the character, it is the grace and it is the professionalism, competitiveness and, yes, the mankind of Henrik Lundqvist he bequeaths to New York permanently now that his days in a Rangers uniform have actually concerned an end.
” I should not have?”
Years later, after the title had become inextricably linked with his identity, Lundqvist would like to know why I d bestowed that name upon him. There had, at some point, been a Swedish queen named Henrik, though he obviously did not rule the land. He knew that.
Well, yes, I would have.
And I am going to miss him awfully.
He was not Sam.
” Its since of my name, thats the factor, right?” he needed to know. “If my name was Sam, you would not have called me King Sam, would you?”
Fifteen years. We talked and we talked and we talked. We talked at morning skates, we talked after games, we talked after practices. I have actually written thousands and countless words about him, more than any other professional athlete I have actually ever covered. I do not know if there has ever been a more thoughtful star of that magnitude.
He was (and is) Henrik Lundqvist.
He was chuckling.
The video game became much faster, Lundqvist ended up being slower. The Rangers came from 3-1 down against the Penguins in 2014 and 3-1 down versus the Capitals in 2015 and Lundqvist permitted a sum of eight objectives in those 6 prospective removal games.
The King.
I wasnt.
Lundqvist came to camp in 2005. After his third NHL video game, a 5-1 victory over the Thrashers at the Garden on Oct. 15, I blessed him The King.
One of the best of perpetuity.
There was that stretch of seasons when Tortorella gloried in the number of high shots directed at Lundqvist during practice. And so, after the second or third time he had actually been struck by a high one, I encouraged Lundqvist to simply leave the net next time, the method Billy Smith frequently did when he was with the Islanders. Years later, after the title had actually ended up being inextricably connected with his identity, Lundqvist wanted to understand why I d bestowed that name upon him.
