The CEO of Capital on Henrik Lundqvist’s heart defect

Of: Anton Johansson

Published: December 23, 2020 at 11:45 p.m.

Photo: Naina Helén Jåma / TT / TT NEWS AGENCY

Henrik Lundqvist.

A heart defect prevents Henrik Lundqvist from playing next season.

Washington Capital General Manager Brian MacLellan says this is something Lundqvist has handled throughout his career.

But the more that was investigated, the clearer it became that the risk was too great.

It hit like a bomb in the hockey world.

Just over a month before the NHL season, Lundqvist’s first in the Washington Capitals, the Swede announced that a heart defect will prevent him from playing for the entire next season.

A severe blow to both Lundqvist and Washington.

– I’m not going to go into the whole situation but he has had a heart defect all the time that he has had it under control, and he has been calm. We think that would be the case throughout his career, says Brian MacLellan during a digital press conference.

“Emotional”

MacLellan confirms that after a routine checkup, they began to investigate more and more.

They went deeper and deeper and Henrik got to know more about his situation and where he was going. Obviously we were all looking forward to having him on the team and he seemed perfect for both sides. Everyone in the organization and he and his family were looking forward to it. Then we physically examined him more and more and the risk level was too high for him to bet. It’s unfortunate and it was emotional for him and his family, says MacLellan.

He continues:

– We are grateful that you have been through this, and we are grateful that our medical team pushed you to the end and explained the situation to you. But everyone is disappointed that we don’t see what we can achieve with him in the team.

Published: December 23, 2020 at 11:45 p.m.

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