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New York Rangers: Alexandar Georgiev’s long-term future

By Nicholas Zararis

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 10: New York Rangers Goalie Alexandar Georgiev (40) in action during the third period of a regular season NHL game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers on February 10, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by David Hahn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 10: New York Rangers Goalie Alexandar Georgiev (40) in action during the third period of a regular season NHL game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers on February 10, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by David Hahn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 10: Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers congratulates Alexandar Georgiev #40 after getting a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden on February 10, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 10: Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers congratulates Alexandar Georgiev #40 after getting a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden on February 10, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The soon to be 37-year-old

The superlatives that will accompany the legend of Lundqvist long after he hangs up his skates are too many to count. Best goaltender of the post-lockout era, greatest Ranger in franchise history, best game seven performer in history to just start at the top. However, as with all truly immortal athletes, eventually, father time will catch up to the netminder.

Even right now, a few weeks away from his 37th birthday, Lundqvist is an above average goaltender. Although his conventional statistics, 2.99 goals-against average and .907 save percentage are slightly below league average that is without the context of the team in front of him.

Simply put, the Rangers hemorrhage shots and immediately put its goaltender behind the eight-ball. As the second worst team in the entire league in terms of scoring chance percentage, Lundqvist faces on average 54 percent of the scoring chances that occur during the course of the game.

By the simple law of averages, the more shots Lundqvist faces, the more likely he is to concede a goal. That’s what makes his performance on the wrong side of 35-years-old so impressive. Even with little to play for or help the Swede is making the most of his remaining time in the NHL.

Although the last two seasons have not gone the way Lundqvist wanted them to go, he’s refused to waive his no-movement clause and is intent on riding things out in New York. With two years remaining on his contract, the Swede is going to be the backstop of the Rangers for the next 24 months.

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