New York Rangers: What it means to Henrik Lundqvist

At this point in Henrik Lundqvist’s illustrious NHL career, it’s more about pride and legacy than winning because of the team around him. For better or worse, the goaltender is trying his absolute best to win regardless.

One of the many dangers of rebuilding as a franchise is that losing eventually becomes a habit if a young group is not given guidance. As of now, the New York Rangers have tried to have their cake and eat it too by keeping Henrik Lundqvist in net and surrounding him with an extremely young group that is unproven.

The results haven’t been there this year on a team or individual level for Lundqvist. To be fair, the Swede is playing behind a team that gives up the second most scoring chances in the entire NHL at five on five play. It should be noted that in spite of this Lundqvist still has a .922 save percentage at five on five.

Having a proven veteran like Lundqvist around a young group of players is important in terms of morale and development. While number 30 may not be a coach or wear a letter on his sweater, make no mistake about it, the Rangers are Lundqvist’s team as long as he’s lacing up his skates.

The image of a broken Lundqvist sitting in his pads two hours after the Rangers lost game five of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final to the Los Angeles Kings still lingers in the back of his mind. For a competitor like him, those agonizing defeats are fuel and will linger for the rest of his life, even after he’s done with the sport.

Even years later, Lundqvist still feels the pain of those memories. That was the furthest he ever got in his career and the best the team could do is four overtime losses and an exit after five games.

With a player holding himself to the highest standard like Lundqvist, the Rangers could never falter to the point of lesser organizations. Sure, the team probably would have liked to bottomed out this year to ensure a top three draft pick,  but at the same time, he’s pushed the team’s young players to be better.

A player like Lundqvist has earned the right to get short with teammates for their mistakes. Watching a defensive scramble fail and the Swede clang his stick on the post or bark at a teammate is just business as usual at this point. He was doing it to players like Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh, so he certainly can to Neal Pionk and Brady Skjei.

The Rangers are still trying to find their culture as a team and someone like Lundqvist is pushing them in the right direction. The goaltender has paid more than his fair share to the team as a player in blood, sweat and tears.

It’d be easy for Lundqvist to just phone it in as a veteran and accept that his time as a star has passed. At 37-years-old, he’s one of the oldest regulars in the NHL and has more than enough money to walk away or want to leave for a better situation. Yet, each of the last two years, Lundqvist has rebuffed the notion of being traded to a contender.

Lundqvist has two more years remaining on his NHL contract and will likely never sniff a Stanley Cup final again if he stays in New York. For his penance as a historically great player on a disappointing team, he’s earned the right to hold his teammates to a higher standard. If that bubbles over as anger on ice occasionally, so be it.