[ad_1]
In the shadow of the presidential elections, the capital’s hockey team has settled for the Swede, who during his years in the New York Rangers was nicknamed “The King.”
A change of club that shows that when everything falls apart, the fairy of happiness can still smile at you.
Henrik Lundqvist began his NHL career with the New York Rangers in the 2005-06 season, and that was where he intended to end it.
Russian goalkeeper Igor Sjestjorkin put an end to those plans.
When the Rangers decided To bet next season on the two young Russian goalkeepers Igor Sjestjorkin and Alexander Georgiev, there was no longer a place in the squad for Lundqvist, who was bought in his last year of contract.
The news was not a surprise, but the road to it had been difficult for the Swedish goalkeeper, who after the turn of the year mostly sat in the booth during matches.
If you are 38 years old and have won Olympic and World Cup gold, have been named the best goalkeeper in the NHL and have also played for the same club for 15 seasons, it would not have been particularly surprising for Henrik Lundqvist to say that after that message would go away. of.
But Lundqvist It is not like most of the others.
There is talk of his winning skull, and he really wants that Stanley Cup title he still lacks.
There is also another dimension to the 38-year-old’s reluctance to become a hockey retiree. Henrik Lundqvist loves to play hockey. It’s not something he says because it sounds good, but his love for the sport is great.
However, it is not easy to enter the market at 38 years old. Also after a season in which he has not been at the top. Especially not if you want to end up at a club with high ambitions and a chance to become Stanley Cup champions.
Added to this are the difficulties of reconciling love of sports with love of family. The plan is reportedly for his wife Therese and the couple’s daughters to stay in New York and, of course, Henrik wanted the chance to meet them regularly.
In other words, many pieces of the puzzle had to fall into place for Lundqvist’s hockey career to continue.
On Friday We were told that this was the case, and yes, it can be called a dream scenario.
Washington needed an experienced goalkeeper and 350 km there was a player with all the routine you could want. Also, a player who lacked a contract and who would not cost too much.
The only thing that could have spoken against Lundqvist taking a chance in Washington is the fact that the team plays in the same division as the Rangers and is one of the club’s rivals. But considering it was the Rangers’ decision to go ahead with the two Russian goalkeepers, Lundqvist doesn’t break any loyalty codes.
Henrik Lundqvist Now he can play for a team that always fights for the Stanley Cup dent, also with friends like Carl Hagelin and Nicklas Bäckström, and has his family close by.
Lundqvist’s task on his new team will be the backup. It is Ilya Samsonov, 23, who will have to assume the role of first goalkeeper, but Lundqvist will have to endure a lot and with a better defense in front of him than he has had in recent seasons at Rangers, the time in Washington may be a worthy end to Lundqvist’s successful career.
