New York Rangers: Coming to grips with Henrik Lundqvist’s window closing

The outstanding goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist has spoiled the New York Rangers for more than a decade. However, at age 36, the Swede is likely out of time to win a Stanley Cup.

Most seventh round picks do not end up being threats to the all time record books. When all is said and done, Henrik Lundqvist will likely finish third all time with more than 484. Not too bad for the 205 overall pick of the 2000 NHL entry draft. In Lundqvist the Rangers have had one of the league’s best goaltenders from pretty much the moment he took the starting goaltender job back in 2005.

Following a seven year stretch in which the organization routinely finished in the bottom half of the league, the Rangers made a triumphant run. From 2005 to 2017 the Rangers only missed the postseason once, the 2009-2010 season in which the team was eliminated from contention on the last day of the season.

This entire era in which the Rangers were amongst the league’s perennial contenders can be attributed to Lundqvist’s outstanding play between the pipes. The Swede had eight seasons of at least a .920 save percentage and if it weren’t for the lockout in 2012, would’ve had 12 straight seasons of at least 30 wins.

Now, in the twilight of his career, Lundqvist is a passenger on a rebuilding team.

The run

The New York Rangers won the most playoff games this decade of any team to not win the Stanley Cup. There is no argument about the importance that Lundqvist played in the team’s success. First of all, if the team had a replacement level goaltender, it would not have made the playoffs as often as it did.

On top of that, once Lundqvist got to the postseason, he somehow got even better. The team’s run to the Eastern Conference Final in 2012 was fueled by a superhuman Lundqvist. The goaltender had an absurd .931 save percentage, 1.81 goals against average and three shutouts in 20 games. Yet, the Rangers bowed out to a lesser Devils team because of the team’s inability to score.

The best analogy for the Rangers with Lundqvist is a person treading water with someone clinging to their back. For the longest time, Lundqvist was treading water with ease with the Rangers draped over hime. However, this past season, the team was simply too heavy and his head dipped under water. Sure, Lundqvist popped back up, but it was a lot to handle to tread water with a heavy body dragging him down.

The rebuild

The most surprising thing is that the New York Ranger’s front office decided on a full scale rebuild. With so much money tied up in an aging goaltender, there was some thinking that the team could use its assets to land a superstar like Erik Karlsson to reduce the growing pains. Instead, the Rangers look to be two years away at minimum from contending.

In terms of goaltenders, age 35 is usually when the steep decline comes. In the case of Lundqvist, he has managed to stay effective. Now at age 36, Lundqvist is posed with the toughest challenge of his entire career, backstop a rebuilding team while things are ugly. The six defenseman that David Quinn will put in front of Lundqvist figure to be amongst the worst units in the entire league.

With the only thing to look forward to being the future, the Rangers are sure putting Lundqvist in a difficult spot. Being that the team would be better served with a higher draft pick, losing down the stretch would be preferable. But, Lundqvist is simply too good of a player and too competitive an athlete to accept the inevitable.

The reality

This entire decade was woulda, coulda, shoulda, almost and close but no cigar. On four different occasions the New York Rangers had teams that were capable of winning the Stanley Cup. However, in each of those four years, the team ran out of good bounces and could not catch any breaks.

Although the team technically got further in 2014, the 2015 President’s Trophy winning team was likely Lundqvist’s best shot at winning the cup. That team lost its leading point scorer during the regular season, Mats Zuccarello, to a freak head injury from a Ryan McDonagh shot from the point in the first round. On top of losing Zuccarello, the team’s number one defenseman, McDonagh, played with a broken foot from game four on.

That combination of bad injury luck was simply too much for the Rangers to overcome. The goaltender did what he could against a more talented Tampa Bay Lightning team. In 2014, the Los Angeles Kings overwhelmed a young Rangers team that did not have the depth down the middle. Those two years were the team’s best chance at winning with Lundqvist in the net.

Now, Lundqvist is on the wrong side of 35 with two years of rebuild in front of him and three years remaining on his contract. Could a 39 year old Lundqvist backbone a team to the Stanley Cup? Sure, but the team in front of him would have to be able to shelter an elderly goaltender. In all likelihood, Lundqvist will go down as the best player to never win a cup.

It is absolutely soul shattering knowing that the best player in the history of the franchise never got the help he needed to win a Stanley Cup. A franchise goaltender that can give your team a chance to win every single night is amongst the rarest type of player in hockey. In Lundqvist, the Rangers won a lot more games than they probably should have considering the team’s talent.