Henrik Lundqvist played in his first game since August 3, 2020. That was his last game as a member of the New York Rangers and in the NHL. Though he would sign with the Washington Capitals as a free agent, he would not play in a game for them. After an irregular heartbeat was brought upon by pericarditis, which required open heart surgery, the Hall of Fame goaltender had to step away from the game.
Lundqvist eventually retired on August 20, 2021, never playing for the Capitals. Lundqvist was a New York Ranger and it did not seem right for him to be in another uniform. But eventually, fans would see Lundqvist play again. This time in the Hockey Hall of Fame Legends Classic.
On the day before Lundqvist and the rest of the 2023 Hockey Hall of Fame Class were to be inducted, not only did they receive their blazers, but some played in the game. And once Lundqvist got into the game, he made sure no more goals were going to be scored as his competitive juices took over again.
“I did not want to give one up,” Lundqvist said. “I want to play for 20 or 30 minutes. I wanted to have that feeling. That’s what I felt when I skated last week. The simplicity of it just floored me. In life, I do so many different things and the focus is all over the place, but playing hockey, you worry about one thing. In a way, I miss that feeling. It was something very refreshing.”
Henrik Lundqvist, in 20 minutes of hockey, pitched a shutout. He stopped around seven to eight shots in the second half of the game, stopping countryman Peter Forsberg, but stopped all six shooters in a shootout at the end of the game. Once again, stopping Forsberg. Lundqvist also stopped fellow Class of 2023 member Pierre Turgeon, who was looking for that “cookie.”
Lundqvist had custom gear for the event made. The arena was full of Rangers fans wanting to see him take to the ice again. And boy it sure looked like he could still play again in the NHL. He was focused on point and looking like the guy who backstopped the Rangers for his entire career. There is a reason they called him the “King.”
Having Henrik Lundqvist back between the pipes sure helped Team Nieuwendyk rally to win 4-3. He had a calming presence out there, as Adam Graves told Full Press Hockey.
“Well, you know what, when I was looking back, I was feeling pretty confident, especially when he got into either shootout but he’s a guy that prides himself on consistency,” Graves said to Full Press Hockey.
And even though Graves and Lundqvist shared the ice for the first time, he has known Lundqvist for his entire career as a member of the New York Rangers and couldn’t be prouder of him going into hockey’s ultimate shrine.
“I didn’t have the privilege of playing with him but I’ve gotten to know him,” Graves told Fress Press Hockey. “Such a big part of our Ranger family and couldn’t be prouder and happier to see him going into the Hall of Fame where he belongs”
As for Lundqvist himself, though the fire still burns, he will not be doing these types of events all the time. But did not rule out playing in some of these types of events every now and then.
“Four weeks ago, I would say no. But now I’m being on the ice a couple of times, I really enjoyed it,” Lundqvist said. I”‘m not gonna do a ton but I might do a couple of games here and there and just it’s so fun to compete. We finished with breakaways, that one-on-one and the competition against those players and something that I crave throughout my career and I’d love to do it in practice. So yeah, it’s not it’s not a no, but we’ll see.”
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