Where’s the love for Henrik Lundqvist?

There is no doubt that Henrik Lundqvist is past his prime.  He is still a capable NHL goalie, better than quite a few others in the NHL.  Yet, he is often vilified on social media by New York Rangers fans.  Why?

Henrik Lundqvist will go down as one of the greatest to every wear a New York Rangers uniform.  He is a sure fire Hall of Fame inductee and will end his career near the top of numerous all-time NHL lists.  He is already owns every goaltending record for the Blueshirts.  Yet, when the conversation turns to him it seems like he has many detractors as he has supporters.  It’s a shame and there is one reason for all of the hate, the salary cap.

Lundqvist makes a lot of money, $8.5 million a year.  On December 4 , 2013 he signed a seven year deal for $59.5 million.  It was a raise from the $6.875 million he had been making on a six year contract. It made him the highest paid New York Ranger, a distinction he held until the Blueshirts signed Artemi Panarin this summer.

In the two years prior to signing that deal, he had established himself as one of the finest netminders in the league. In 2011-12 he won the Vezina Trophy and was a first team All-Star as he led the Rangers to the Conference Finals.  In 2012-13 he was the winning-est goalie in the league and played in 43 of the 48 games in that lockout-shortened season.

He made Glen Sather look smart for locking him in during his walk year when he led the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014.

The cap impact

When Lundqvist signed that big deal, it meant he was taking up about 12% of the total salary space on the team.  Combined with longterm deals signed by Dan Girardi and Marc Staal as well as the big payday already owed to Rick Nash, starting in 2014-15, the Rangers were in cap trouble.

As a result, the team had to jettison important role players like Carl Hagelin and Ryan Callahan and eventually trade Derek Stepan.   While the financial decisions were tough and impacted the team, it also affected the reputation of Lundqvist.

Now, the deal is seen as an anchor, weighing down the team and forcing tough personnel decisions. Because of that, the calls for Lundqvist to agree to a trade or to just retire, get louder every day.  And that is a shame.

It’s important to remember one simple fact.  Glen Sather did not hold a gun to Lundqvist’s head and force him to take the money.  The team agreed to pay him that salary, knowing well in advance that there would be a cap impact down the road.  Look at the articles about the deal from December 2013.  All of them agreed that the money was too rich, but that the Rangers had few options.  They all acknowledged that the impact would be when he ages, but the team couldn’t afford to let him walk.

It’s nice that all of the Cam Talbot and Antti Raanta supporters have quieted down since both goalies have come down to earth.  Talbot had one year as Edmonton’s top goalkeeper, but now he is with his third team in three years and is an average back up goalie.  Raanta has been solid with Arizona, but has played only 59 games in two years due to injury and this year, he is the back-up to Darcy Kuemper and is trade bait.  Meanwhile, Lundqvist is still going strong, relatively injury free and keeping the Rangers in games they should be out of.

Show a little love

I’ve written about the need to get rid of the hard salary cap and replace it with a luxury tax.  The biggest reason is the cap punishes teams that develop young talent that they then cannot afford to keep, all in the name of parity.

The cap has changed the whole salary structure in the NHL.  A player used to be paid  more for what he had accomplished.  Now, players are paid based on what teams think that they will accomplish.  That’s  how a 22-year old Mikka Rantanen can get paid $9.25 million a year for the next six years and a 22-year old Mitch Marner will earn $10.9 million annually for the next six years.  It’s why Alex Pietrangelo, the 29-year old captain of the Stanley Cup champions is still unsure of where he will be playing next season.

But there’s another reason why the cap is hurting the game and Henrik Lundqvist is the poster child for it.

Why should a player who has been the personification of excellence and has been the face of his team for 14 years become a burden, just because the team decided to pay him a lot of money?  He should be allowed to age gracefully and serve as a mentor to his younger teammates and every time his name is mentioned it shouldn’t be accompanied by the words “$8.5 million cap hit.”

Players who have played their hearts out for teams and were rewarded with long term deals find themselves bought out and discarded  Ask Corey Perry about that or read how Dan Girardi felt after he was let go by the New York Rangers.

So, go ahead and blame Lundqvist for losing the 2014 Finals (he didn’t do that by himself) and cringe if he allows a bad goal, but let’s stop with all of the criticism that is based on what he is paid and how that impacts the salary cap.  Contracts are binding.  Teams make the commitment to pay a player and the player commits to doing his part to live up to the agreement.  We need to learn to live with the consequences and show respect for players who have done so much for the teams over the years.

Just ask the Philadelphia Flyers what is like to constantly be on the hunt for a quality netminder.  Many Ranger fans know that they have been lucky to be able to watch one of the greatest goalies in NHL history for 14 years.   I’d hate to think where the team would have been if they didn’t have him.

Alexandar Georgiev gets the start on Saturday in Nashville.  That’s two in a row for the young goaltender.   Enough said…thoughts?