New York Rangers: Where does Lundqvist rank among NHL goalies?

During the summer, the NHL network has conducted a series of fan polls to get opinion on the top 20 players at each position. As the network conducts its poll for the goaltender position, it naturally asks the question: Where does the New York Rangers 35 year old Henrik Lundqvist rank ?

The slow burn that is the NHL offseason can often leave those who follow the league feeling starved come late August. Especially in the case of those who follow teams like the New York Rangers that did not make the playoffs considering the team has not played since the first week of April. That is a long way in the domain of sports.

The natural inclination during this time of the calendar is debate. Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby? Carey Price or Henrik Lundqvist? While the legitimacy of some debate is up for discussion (see Jake Virtanen finishing in the top 20 of wingers,) there is something to be said for the nature of possessional rankings.

According to oddshark.com, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc Andre-Fleury is the favorite to win the Vezina trophy for the upcoming NHL season. Following the Golden Knights goaltender are Sergei Bobrovsky, Tukka Rask and Carey Price. In relation to these four candidates for the Vezina, there is a serious argument that Lundqvist is just as good skill wise as any of them.

Being that preseason rankings are purely subjective, there is an air of bias towards the track record. If a player has never distinguished themselves statistically, they likely won’t be in the discussion to be considered better than Lundqvist.