14:06PM: Lundqvist sent a message to Larry Brooks clarifying his comments and re-affirmed that his goal is to win the Stanley Cup with the Rangers. (NY Post)
He said that his comments were about how a player is never “bigger or more important than an organization” but that he also has to respect the process the Rangers are going through right now. (NY Post)
9:52AM: In an interview with Expressen Sweden, Henrik Lundqvist said the following about his future with the Rangers:
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“I don’t know if I will stay in Rangers throughout my career. I have two years left on the contract and it has always been my goal to remain in Rangers. But when you get up in the years you never know. I have my own agenda, but if the club wants something else, I have to be sensitive to it. You can’t just run your own race. It’s not always the dream is realistic, we’ll see how it gets. Now I focus everything on the World Cup.” (Expressen)
Lundqvist said that this past season was “very different” than his previous ones with the Rangers and that the losses during the second half of the season took a toll on him mentally. (Expressen)
He added that he felt good to start the year and was better “physically, technically and mentally” than he had been in “several years.”
Lundqvist has stated numerous times since the Rangers began their rebuild that he wanted to stay with the organization.
He said near the end of the season that his struggles had “drained” him and that for him to enjoy playing it “starts with my own mindset, not where we are as a team. That’s what I’m going to work on.” (NY Post)
David Quinn spoke about Lundqvist’s workload at the end of the season and said, “Hank and I have talked about that for sure. I’ve said this before, I’m a new coach and Hank has done it this way and this is the way it’s done, he and I have talked about that for sure. Listen, he’s still one of the top goalies in the league and he is a part of our future.”
Quinn said of Lundqvist buying into the rebuild, on 11/29, “it really sets the tone, for any staff and organization. He has been here for so long and had so much success and I don’t know if there is anyone in our league that has the importance and weight that he does in our locker room and it makes all of our jobs easier.” (NYR)
Rangers GM Jeff Gorton said of Lundqvist at the end of the season, “he went to the All-Star game and we kind of forget that, obviously he was really good in the beginning of the year and then it became difficult. As we were starting to trade some of his friends again and the season with how it was unfolding, I think it was a lot for him mentally to go through that again and it was difficult and showed in his play but when I think of his season I think of how good he was at the beginning of the year and it didn’t go well for our team from the deadline on and he is no different than any player. The guy is still a great goalie, I’m convinced of that and I just think that it didn’t go his way the last few games and I look for him to be great again.”
Lundqvist has two-years remaining on his contract with cap hits of $8.5 million per season but is only paid $7 million this coming season and $5.5 million in 2020-21. He has a full no-move clause. (Cap Friendly)
Adam Rotter: If Henrik Lundqvist doesn’t want to go anywhere in the final two-years of his contract then he won’t. I think more of what Lundqvist is saying involves whether he remains with the Rangers in some capacity after his contract expires or if he tries to join another team as a UFA in the summer of 2021 to be part of a potential winner. He has only ever wanted to play and win with the Rangers but there just may not be a spot for him in a couple of years when the Rangers might be really getting into position to contend again. Lundqvist still has a big role with the Rangers on and off the ice and they don’t yet have anyone else ready to assume the 50-60 game workload that a starter would. His spot right now is secure but anything beyond his current contract is certainly up for grabs at this point.