New York Rangers’ Lundqvist makes right decision by sitting out of IIHF
The New York Rangers’ franchise cornerstone has opted to sit out of the IIHF World Championship tournament this spring.
New York Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist isn’t used to having a long offseason. Lundqvist had only missed the playoffs once in his 13 year career before this season. Off time has been hard to come by for the King, so when fans heard rumors that he was planning on sitting out the IIHF World Championships this spring, they were happy that the man who played 63 games at the age of 36 would get some extra rest.
Little did they know that Lundqvist needed the rest to rehab an injury he sustained six months ago.
Det tar emot, men måste tyvär tacka nej till VM iår. Min knäskada som jag dragits med senaste 5-6 månaderna sätter stopp.
— Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist) April 15, 2018
Ska träffa läkare i veckan för en injektion och sedan blir det rehab närmsta 4 veckorna. Hoppas på en ny chans🇸🇪
— Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist) April 15, 2018
According to Twitter’s translate feature, Lundqvist said that, while he was offered a spot on the roster, his knee injury that he sustained five-to-six months ago will force him to sit out.
He also noted that he will meet with his doctor in a week and get an injection in the ailing knee. Rehab will take about four weeks.
Lundqvist sustained the injury during Team Sweden’s victory at the tournament last spring.
What this means going forward
Lundqvist talked about the injury on breakup day. Here is what he had to say about it via the New York Post:
"“After that, it’s been there. Something I had to deal with … it’s not affecting my play, but it’s something that every day you have to look after. It’s not ideal, but I think it’s part of playing in this league, too. You play every day and you just have to make sure you do whatever is necessary to be ready to play. But now I see an opportunity to get the right treatments and feel 100 percent.”"
If the New York Rangers want any chance of a quick bounce back and a chance at making the playoffs next season, Lundqvist needs to be 100 percent healthy.
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It is concerning that Lundqvist, on a team that was going nowhere this past season, was allowed to continue playing. This falls on former head coach Alain Vigneault and the team’s medical staff for not putting their franchise cornerstone’s health first. Lundqvist himself deserves a bit of the blame here as well. There is no shame in sitting out if you’re hurt.
Lundqvist will have about four and a half months to get right before he takes the ice for the Rangers in training camp.