The following section of Henrik Lundqvist’s NHL profession is waiting a result of a heart condition that will keep him from playing for the Washington Capitals this season.
“It’s still very hard for me to process all of this,” Lundqvist said in a video posted on social media by the Capitals. “And kind of shocking, to be honest.”
Calling it “a pretty tough and emotional day,” the longtime New York Rangers goaltender, who joined the Capitals this offseason, said he has been undergoing various tests on his heart “for several weeks.”
“After lots of discussions with doctors around the country, and finally receiving the last results earlier this week, I unfortunately won’t be able to join the team this year,” Lundqvist said.
Lundqvist, 38, expressed gratitude toward the Capitals in another post on Twitter, saying, “I will take the next few weeks to be with my family and I’ll be back to share the next steps.”
This offseason, Lundqvist consented to a one-year manage the Capitals worth $1.5 million following a 15-year run with the Rangers. He turned into an unhindered free specialist in a packed field of goaltenders.
The Capitals headed out in different directions with long-lasting goaltender Braden Holtby in free organization, going to 23-year-old Ilya Samsonov as the essential starter for next season and Lundqvist as the reinforcement.
“Heartbreaking and emotional,” Capitals owner Ted Leonsis wrote on Twitter. “I am only concerned and thinking about Henrik Lundqvist as a person and for his family’s wellbeing. We pray for his good health. We and the entire NHL family support the King.”
NHL magistrate Gary Bettman called Lundqvist “an adored player” and a “awesome minister” for the game.
“While we are all saddened as hockey fans that we will not be able to watch Henrik tend goal for the Capitals this season,” Bettman said, “we are also thankful that he will be getting the necessary medical care.”
The Rangers additionally offered their help via web-based media.
“We have no doubt that Henrik Lundqvist will face this challenge with the same fierce determination and grace that made him one of the greatest goaltenders to ever play the game of hockey, and an inspiration to all of us,” the team’s statement said. “He and his family are in our thoughts during this difficult time. He will always be a part of the New York Rangers family.”
Lundqvist is a five-time finalist for the Vezina Trophy, winning the honor for the NHL’s top goaltender in 2011-12.
He has showed up in 887 NHL normal season games, in addition to 130 in the end of the season games, and he approached a title in 2014, driving the Rangers to the Cup Final. He lost postseason arrangement to the Capitals in 2009 and 2011, at that point killed them in 2012, 2013 and 2015.
He hadn’t partook in the end of the season games with New York since 2017 until two games in the passing round of the extended, 24-group end of the season games this previous summer.
“The risk of playing without remedying my condition is too high,” Lundqvist wrote on Twitter, “so I will spend the coming months figuring out the best course of action.”