Henrik Lundqvist

It was a well-deserved honor for the Rangers goaltending great as he witnessed his jersey being raised to the rafters. Lundqvist became only the 11th Ranger to garner the honor, joining Rod Gilbert, Ed Giacomin, Andy Bathgate, Harry Howell, Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield, Mike Richter, Mark Messier, Brian Leetch and Adam Graves. Congratulations go out to King Henrik.

Lundqvist started working out and skating, but he was experiencing chest pains. He was told that it could be another year before he was 100%. “So I thought about this, talked with my closest friends, my family and my wife, Therese." Lundqvist said. "This year was probably harder for her than for me. She is such a strong woman. It came down to how badly I wanted to push it, how much of a gamble did I want to take? And I came to the conclusion that there are too many unknowns and too much risk for not enough reward for me to keep playing." Lundqvist announced his retirement on Friday. He said he's "at peace" with his decision and grateful for the career he had. He'll be returning to his family in New York. He's not sure what the future will bring for him and hasn't decided yet if his post-playing career will involve hockey related activities. That said, he's certainly interested in being involved with the Rangers at some point, but he's not sure if now is the right time for that. We imagine the Rangers would be eager to have him involved within the organization in some capacity.

Lundqvist will be remembered as one of the best goaltenders of his generation. He had a 459-310-96 record, 2.43 GAA, and .918 save percentage in 887 games, all with the New York Rangers. He was the Vezina Trophy winner in 2012 and finished in second place in 2013. He would have played for the Washington Capitals in 2020-21, but unfortunately heart condition that led to surgery prevented him from playing at all last season. While we're sure that's not the way he would have picked to end his career, he remains upbeat about the next chapter of his life. "The future excites me," Lundqvist said. "I've met so many amazing people over the years that will help to guide and inspire me in my new journey."

"Last week's checkup showed some inflammation around the heart that now requires a few months more of rest and steady recovery," Lundqvist posted on Twitter. "While it's not what I hoped for, I know this is all part of the process of getting back to 100 percent." He had surgery in early January to replace a heart valve and he was hoping for better news from his checkup last week. Lundqvist, who set a "stretch goal" to join the Capitals for the end of the season, has been training and he is feeling good, but his heart needs more time.