Henrik Lundqvist has been a vital piece of the New York Rangers success over his 12 years with the team. However, Lundqvist had a rocky 2016-17 season.
At points, Henrik Lundqvist struggled to maintain consistency and find his game. This led New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault to bench his starting goaltender in favor of Antti Raanta at various points throughout the season.
However, despite this, Lundqvist also managed to reach many milestones. He became the fastest goalie to reach 400 wins, exceeded 30 wins in a season for the 11th time in his career and helped lead his team to their seventh consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff appearance.
Lundqvist was stellar for the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs and played well in the second round, where the Rangers defensive issues got the best of them.
While we have explored reasons why Lundqvist will bounce back next season, we also need to consider what will happen if Lundqvist can’t turn things around.