The elephant in the room is Henrik Lundqvist

Call it the elephant in the room or the 800 pound gorilla, Henrik Lundqvist’s presence on the roster is an inconvenient truth for the New York Rangers.  Now a major newspaper columnist has put the idea of a Lundqvist buyout front and center.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post doesn’t shy away from controversy. His post-game confrontations with John Tortorella are legendary and live on as YouTube fodder.   Thursday afternoon, Brooks wrote about the subject that has been taboo in the mainstream media, the need to buy out Henrik Lundqvist.

Websites like Blue Line Station don’t get much credence from the mainstream media or the teams we report on, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that we are on top of what is going on with the Rangers.  With that said, Blue Line Station published a story on December 18 that proposed exactly the same thing, the need to buy out Henrik Lundqvist.  You can read it here.

The BLS  article generated numerous comments with many longtime fans upset that the team would treat a future Hall of Famer like that, while an equal number supporting the idea for the benefit of the team.  It’s guaranteed to be a divisive subject and the promotion and success of Igor Shesterkin has made it even more relevant.

The reality

The harsh reality is that Henrik Lundqvist is the third best goaltender on the New York Rangers  roster.   He’s still better than many NHL goalies, but his problem is that the Rangers have two young stud netminders they want to keep.

As much as has been made about the Rangers shopping Alexandar Georgiev, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the  team that was the best potential destination, are now out of the running having acquired Jack Campbell from Los Angeles.  It’s clear that that the Rangers have set a high bar for teams looking to trade and won’t take anything less than an overwhelming offer.

By setting that high price for Georgiev, it’s clear that they don’t want to lose him and see a Shesterkin/Georgiev duo as a tandem that could own the NHL for the next decade.   And if that means losing Lundqvist, so be it.

A Lundqvist buyout would save the team $3 million next season.  With that $3 million, they would be in a position to retain their Restricted Free Agents and, god forbid, make a run at Chris Kreider.  If the goal is for the team to be better next season, would they better if they had a Shesterkin-Georgiev tandem in goal along with all of their RFA’s and Kreider back on the ZIbanejad line?

If it’s not all about the money for Kreider, he could accept a trade at the deadline to a contender, get his chance to make some hay in the playoffs and return to New York this summer on a team friendly contract. In that scenario, he gets to stay longterm with his buddy ZIbanejad and bear the benefits of whatever the Rangers are able to extort for him at the deadline.  Fantasy or reality?  You never know with Kreider.

The rumors

As we reported here a couple days ago, there is some belief that the Rangers are maintaining a full court press on Lundqvist to get him to waive his no movement clause.  If he does, there is no doubt that he will have to approve any deal that the Rangers are able to make, but if it means a shot at the Stanley Cup, he could very well go for it.

Meanwhile, a former Hurricanes scout tweeted this:

If Lundqvist was to agree to a trade, the Rangers could agree to retain as much as 50% of his cap hit.   That makes much more sense than a buyout as they would save $4.25 million next season while a buyout would save just $3 million next season and cost  $1.5 million in 2021-22.

What’s best

There’s no doubt about it.  We said it in December and we will say it February.  A parting of ways with Henrik Lundqvist is best for all concerned.  It takes him out of this agonizing three goalie rotation, leaves the Blueshirts with a formidable goaltending tandem for years to come and allows them to retain some crucial assets for the future.

It’s no disgrace for Lundqvist.  A trade will allow him to play for a Stanley Cup as soon as this spring.  A buy out and free agency will allow him to sign with any team he chooses, much as Kevin Shattenkirk did when he signed with Tampa.  The Rangers owe it to Lundqvist to decide which option he prefers.   He turns 38 in three weeks, time is running out for him to get the holy grail.