It didn’t come as a huge surprise that Henrik Lundqvist didn’t have to wait long to make it into the Hockey Hall of Fame, as he was selected in his first year of eligibility as one of three goalies in the Class of 2023.
Lundqvist, nicknamed King Henrik by fans in Manhattan, played for only the Rangers throughout his 15-year career.
Lundqvist did sign with the Washington Capitals but never played a game for them due to a heart condition, which forced him to call it a career.
Henrik Lundqvist finished his career with 459 wins, a .918 save percentage and at a stretch to start his career, he led the Rangers to the playoffs in 11 of 12 seasons.
He did play in one Stanley Cup Final but never got to lift the Cup. His Hall of Fame induction was still so enormously well-deserved, for being the sixth-winningest goalie in league history, only behind all-time greats Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Marc-Andre Fleury, Roberto Luongo and Ed Belfour.
Lundqvist, of course, played with a lot of great players during his years with the Rangers. And he, without a doubt, played against some of the greatest players in hockey history as well.
In the podcast ’The Steam Room,’ with Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley, Lundqvist revealed who, out of all the greats he played against, stood out from the rest.
And the answer wasn’t all that surprising.
”I faced Sidney Crosby a lot,” Lundqvist said.
”There was a lot of games, even playoff rounds, against him and just his smartness and his drive … It was almost like he could just get the whole team behind him almost every game, and that was impressive to watch.”
Lundqvist was also asked if he believes the answer would be ’Henrik Lundqvist’ if Sidney Crosby were asked who he doesn’t want against him on a penalty shot.
”I would hope that he would say me, but I don’t think he would say me,” Lundqvist laughed.
