In terms of New York Rangers’ franchise history, it doesn’t exactly have the best track record of treating players the best on their way out. Henrik Lundqvist is in the twilight of his career and takes up significant cap space.
(As a disclaimer before getting into the finer points, I’m not advocating that the New York Rangers buyout goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. I’m not here to argue, just making a point based on the team’s history)
In terms of the New York Rangers franchise history, there are few players more revered than Henrik Lundqvist. The netminder is in the brief discussion for the best player to ever wear Ranger blue and has an extremely convincing argument based on his track record, playoff performances and role in the community.
Sure, the kneejerk rebuttal is Mark Messier or Brian Leetch from the 1994 Stanley Cup champion Rangers. Never winning the best trophy in professional sports is a glaring hole in Lundqvist’s resume. Those who were alive for the Stanley Cup win in 1994 do make that point in this debate, especially at the Swede’s expense.
Both Messier and Leetch had unceremonious ends to their time in New York. The Rangers let Messier walk in free agency because it had agreed to an offer sheet with center Joe Sakic, however, the Colorado Avalanche matched the Rangers deal of $21 million over three years. New York was left standing when the music stopped.
Ultimately, Messier’s hiatus to British Columbia ended three years later and he returned.
As for Leetch, the first American born player to ever win the Conn Smythe award, the Rangers ended up trading the defenseman to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the summer of 2004 for two prospects, a first and second-round pick.
Not exactly fairy tale stuff here between icons and the Rangers’ organization.
Lundqvist and the future
The Rangers have Lundqvist under contract for two more seasons at $8.5 million per year. Going into the 2019-2020 season in which the Swede will turn 39-years-old and the organization has two younger goaltenders in the pipeline naturally raises questions.
Before you ask, no, Lundqvist hasn’t changed his mind about a trade. Two separate times in the past 12 months the front office checked in with the goaltender to gauge his willingness to accept a trade only for Lundqvist to rebuff the suggestion and insist that he wants to ride out the rebuild. It’s clear that playing for just one team means a lot to Lundqvist and he’s got every right to.
With a full no-movement clause, the only possible way to move on from Lundqvist would be a buyout. From a financial standpoint alone it would make sense. If New York bought out Lundqvist, it’d save the team $4.25 million in year one, and $2.75 million in year two. The team would have $1.75 million in dead money for the following two years.
In terms of public relations nightmares, there are few worse than buying a signature player out of a contract in the twilight of his career against his wishes. While Lundqvist’s deal is a problem at this point because he simply cannot play at a level worth $8.5 million. In terms of statistics, Lundqvist would need around a 2.30 goals against average and a 9.25 save percentage.
With the team in front of Lundqvist, that’s probably outright impossible, no matter how many expected goals he can save. This is what makes the current situation even more difficult from a front office perspective. It’s simply a fact that Lundqvist is overpaid relative to his production. Paying a goaltender $8.5 million per year on a rebuilding team is counter-intuitive.
Given the Rangers track record as an organization when it comes to the treatment of its signature players, it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility. As a franchise, it’s irresponsible to allow sentimental and non-results based motivation drive decision making. Lundqvist holds a special place in team history, but history is for books, not the National Hockey League.
I’m not saying that Lundqvist should be bought out, but it shouldn’t be totally out of the question going forward. It’d give the team considerable financial flexibility this summer when franchise shifting talents will be available.